As Presidential Candidates Jockey Earlier than Ever for Big-Donor Contributions, New Advisory Council Brings Momentum, Credibility to Unity08’s Plan for Change

Washington, D.C. – March 27, 2024 - Unity08 announced today that it has formed an advisory council to help guide the political movement in its goal to win the White House with a bipartisan Unity Ticket, nominated in the first-ever national political primary to be held over the Internet.

“This impressive new advisory council brings credibility and momentum to our mission of winning the White House with a Unity Ticket, nominated in the first-ever ‘national’ presidential primary, and elected through the power of small-dollar contributions from everyday Americans,” said Doug Bailey, member of the Unity08 founders council, who founded the political newsletter The Hotline and ran communications during the 1976 Gerald Ford presidential campaign. “We welcome them to our movement.”

Jerry Rafshoon, Unity08 founders council member and communications director during the Carter White House, said, “Unity08 is delighted to welcome this distinguished group of Americans to our efforts to take the country back from overly partisan, divisive politics and place it back in the hands of the people. Each of these individuals shares our belief that now is the time for Americans to unite in an Internet-based movement and to say, ‘Enough is enough!’”

Members of the new advisory council are:

• Peter Ackerman, chairman of Rockport Capital
• Jacqueline Adams, an Emmy Award®-winning former correspondent for CBS News. She is a senior counselor at global public relations firm Burson-Marstellar
• Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and chairman of HDNet, an HDTV cable network
• Susan Cullman, co-chair, Republican Majority for Choice PAC
• John Dwyer, counsel to Arent Fox and former CEO of a specialty pharmacy distribution company
• Angus King, two-term Independent governor of Maine (1995-2003) and special counsel at the law firm of Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer and Nelson
• Dale Mathias, co-founder of GlobeVest LLC, an emerging market private equity fund-of-funds and a former associate dean at the Columbia Business School
• George Vradenburg, president of the Vradenburg Foundation and former executive vice president for global and strategic policy at AOL/Time Warner
• Sam Waterston, the Emmy Award-winning lead actor of NBC’s long-running television series Law & Order
• Bill Weld, the Republican governor of Massachusetts from 1991-1997, and partner at the law firm McDermott, Will & Emery

“Each of these leaders shares Unity08’s belief that, in order to fix today’s broken political system, the role of bundled lobbyist checks in presidential campaigns needs to be drastically reduced, supplanted by small contributions from enthusiastic, engaged American voters,” said Rafshoon.

Unity08 believes it has the right plan to end the partisan bickering in Washington and get the country back on track:

• Host a national primary over the Internet, in which any registered voter can participate
• Nominate a bipartisan Unity Ticket at the national presidential primary
• Place that ticket on the ballot in all 50 states
• Fund that campaign through small-dollar gifts
• Win the White House with that Unity Ticket, thus bringing a whole new level of cooperation to Washington and actually making progress on the most crucial issues facing the nation

“Our mission is a critical one for the future of our country,” said Bailey. “I thank these individuals for joining us, and for believing in our most important cause. We welcome their guidance, ideas and counsel.”

Unity08 is now enabling any registered American voter, without changing their party affiliation, to sign up as a founding delegate at the first-ever national presidential primary, to be held over the Internet in the spring of 2024. Americans can register now at unity08.com.

Unity08 is a recently established political movement attracting Americans deeply concerned with the polarization of our political system. Unity08 will provide American voters access to a new and highly participatory process to nominate and elect a bipartisan ticket to the White House in 2024, unconstrained by the limitations of the current system. Learn more at unity08.com.