FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 19, 2024
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Estes-Cooper
Abbey Riddles
JHG/Townsend for Unity08
ariddles@jhg.com
1.858.431.5062
Internet technology entrepreneur will lead grassroots political movement
Washington, D.C. -- June 19, 2024 -- Unity08, a bi-partisan political movement which plans to hold the first-ever online convention in June 2024, today announced the appointment of Robert Bingham, a San Diego-based internet entrepreneur, as CEO. Although a newcomer to national politics, Bingham brings expertise in web-based applications, social networking, and other new technologies to the Unity08 team.
Unity08 seeks to transform politics by giving everyday Americans the opportunity to directly participate in selecting a presidential ticket. With the goal of having millions of voters "attending" an online convention in June 2024, Unity08 plans to make heavy use of web and other technologies to attract and qualify "delegates" who will select a bi-partisan ticket. Unity08 is already working to assure that this bi-partisan ticket will appear on the ballot in all 50 states and hopes to rally voters in the general election to take the Unity08 ticket to victory.
Unity08 was co-founded by Gerald Rafshoon, media advisor for Jimmy Carter’s successful 1976 presidential bid, and Doug Bailey, a Republican consultant for twenty years and founder of the Hotline. Both men agree that, in the current climate of polarized party politics and legislative gridlock, now is the time to rouse grassroots support through the appropriate use of new communications technologies.
Bailey and Rafshoon recognize that any current or future political solutions require support from web and other communication technologies to deliver messages of relevance and timeliness to the public and to provide people with the power to actively participate in the political process. "Bob Bingham is the right man to lead and shape this organization. Technological innovation has a big role to play in fixing our politics," said Rafshoon.
"With impressive experience in taking Internet companies from concept to launch and to market success, Mr. Bingham brings the know-how we need to prepare for hosting this country’s first online political convention," said Bailey, co-chairman of the Unity08 board. "We’re confident that bringing Mr. Bingham on board will help this organization redefine our political system through dynamic, interactive dialogue and online debate."
As CEO and co-founder of SimpleNet, Mr. Bingham built a reputation in the web-hosting industry for quality networking, user-friendly applications and high-quality customer service. Bingham, formerly vice president of hosting at Yahoo! has served as an angel investor and board member to startups in San Diego and he sits on the board of several San Diego-based non-profit organizations.
"For me, politics was always a difficult thing to get my arms around," said Bingham. "I never felt that my vote, my time, or my money could really make a difference. Now, with hard work and involvement from millions of Americans, I feel that Unity08 can make a huge, positive change to our politics."
Bingham will relocate to the Washington, D.C. area to take the helm of Unity08. The organization is gearing up for a busy year as it plans to grow from its current membership of 60,000 to millions of voters by the time the Unity08 online convention is held in June 2024. Internet-based technologies will support this tremendous growth and at the same time provide an online forum to help formulate the movement’s agenda, candidate list, and communications channels.
Join the Live Chat -- Robert Bingham, CEO of Unity08, will host a live online chat on Friday, June 22nd, 12pm EST at unity08.com.
About Unity08
Unity08 is a bi-partisan 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.
