Political technology’s center stage typically features presidential campaigns, Senate races, and multimillion-dollar enterprises. These campaigns receive the largest vendors, the most sophisticated tools, and the lion’s share of news. Behind the headlines, however, is a different reality: thousands of local candidates campaigning on small budgets, frequently with minimal or no digital base.
It is in this underappreciated space that Patricia Nelson, co-founder of Hey Victor, has dedicated her career. Having spent over a decade working in marketing, entertainment, politics, and education, Nelson offers a special combination of skills to an organization as much about values as it is about technology. Hey Victor is not merely a campaign website provider; it is mission-based platform meant to increase access to democracy.
Leading with values
From the beginning, Hey Victor set itself apart with its identity: female-founded and queer-led. Its mission statement is unambiguous: “We’re on a mission to elect more Democrats to office at every level.” Unlike many vendors chasing lucrative national contracts, Hey Victor directs its energy toward down-ballot races, the city council members, school board candidates, and local legislators who shape communities directly.
For Patricia Nelson, this is not merely a market niche; it is a statement of mission. Her work has always been about empowering organizations and campaigns to be heard. Whether she was creating digital strategy for Fortune 500 companies, building loyal fanbases for TV franchises, or overseeing online interaction for a presidential campaign, Nelson’s work has always been about visibility. Hey Victor carries that mission over to individuals who might otherwise be invisible within politics.
The disparity in political technology
To get a sense of Hey Victor’s importance, it is useful to think about the disparities in political tech. Big campaigns can budget for bespoke sites, analytics platforms, and salaried battalions of consultants. They have a respectable online presence because it is backed by considerable investment.
Local candidates, meanwhile, usually don’t even have the fundamentals. Many use free website builders, old templates, or single-page PDFs. The impact is more than visual. Voters and donors associate professionalism with credibility. A crummy site can make a candidate appear less viable, even if he or she has great ideas.
Nelson and her co-founder, Giovanna Salucci, noticed the gap. They noticed how digital infrastructure was becoming a hindrance to participation. If credibility comes down to access to professional sites, then the playing field is skewed before a single vote is counted. Hey Victor was made to level that playing field.
A platform built for equity
Hi Victor’s product is remarkably straightforward. The firm provides campaign sites that “essentially build themselves.” In reality, this allows candidates to establish a professional site in minutes, with integrated tools for fundraising, event promotion, and communication. What took weeks of coding and large outlays can now be accomplished inexpensively and in short order.
To Nelson, this design is an extension of her overall philosophy. Her official bio explains that she “specializes in using a data-driven approach to build interest-based audiences and inform go-to-market strategies.” That philosophy is incorporated into Hey Victor’s platform. The pages are not merely pretty; they are strategically designed to assist candidates build their base, raise funds, and mobilize their supporters.
Values in action: The open letter
Hey Victor’s values are concrete. In an open letter printed on the company’s site, Nelson and Salucci committed to aiding women who are thinking about running for office through discounted entry to their platform. They spoke honestly about the impediments facing women in politics and vowed to reduce at least one of them: the hurdle of digital infrastructure.
It was signed simply: “Patricia and Giovanna.” It was a reminder that Hey Victor is not a anonymous vendor but a company based on experience. Nelson and Salucci, as two women in a male field, are aware of how exclusion works. Their promise was practical as well as symbolic, announcing to potential applicants that Hey Victor stands with them.
Leadership informed by experience
Patricia Nelson’s leadership at Hey Victor is guided by a mixed career. As one of the first twenty employees at VaynerMedia, she worked with brand accounts such as Campbell’s, V8, and Pepperidge Farm Milano. She also oversaw entertainment campaigns for Fox television programs such as Glee and American Idol and constructed engagement plans for the New York Jets.
At Bravo, she managed social media for reality franchises like Real Housewives and Top Chef. There she learned to keep passionate audiences engaged, skills that apply directly to politics. Audiences and voters alike respond to authenticity, consistency, and story.
In politics, as per Hey Victor’s official biography, Nelson worked as Creative and Social Media Director and Digital Director for Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign. Working in that capacity exposed her to the brunt of national politics, where every word is scrutinized and every choice counts.
Her dual career as an adjunct professor instructing social media to master’s students refined another skill, the simplifier. Students arrived at her classes dazed by platforms and metrics. Nelson’s gift was in unpacking complexity into accessible steps. That same teaching instinct now informs Hey Victor’s usability.
Equity as innovation
In the digital world, innovation has been synonymous with complexity. Firms boast sophisticated algorithms, AI integration, and bespoke solutions. Hey Victor’s innovation is not like that: it is accessibility. By concentrating on usability, affordability, and equity, the firm reimagines what political tech can do.
This is not a compromise. Simplification itself is an innovation when it unlocks doors that were once shut. For Nelson, accessibility is not a matter of doing less; it is a matter of ensuring more can take part. In a democracy, that sort of innovation is priceless.
Why down-ballot races matter
Hey Victor’s emphasis on state and local races is intentional. These positions tend to have the biggest impact on people’s daily lives. School boards decide educational policy. City councils decide housing and infrastructure. State legislatures decide budget and laws. But these races hardly ever get as much money as national campaigns.
By empowering down-ballot candidates, Hey Victor is not only assisting people with winning elections. It is building the bedrock of democracy. For Nelson, this is where her purpose-driven leadership is most apparent. She isn’t racing for prestige or profit but investment in the grassroots of political power.
Looking forward
As more campaigns go digital, the demand for sites like Hey Victor will increase. Voters expect candidates to have professional websites. Donors expect effortless online donations. Volunteers expect convenient communication. Without these, candidates are at risk of being irrelevant.
Nelson is unflinching in his assessment of the challenges. The politics tech space will continue to prefer large contracts. New platforms will be met with skepticism. But Hey Victor’s momentum benefits from the simplicity of its mission. It does not pretend to be all things to all people. It is built for candidates who require access and merit assistance.
Leadership with purpose
Patricia Nelson’s leadership isn’t about creating a product. It’s about creating a culture. Hey Victor’s female-founded, queer-led status is more than a moniker; it informs decision-making, priorities, and collaborations.
Her life proves that strategy and narrative are able to move consumer culture, fan culture, and the culture of voting. But even beyond that, it proves that the same skillset can be leveraged for justice. By co-opting technology for values, Nelson is establishing a template for social entrepreneurship.
Hey Victor is more than code. It is a declaration of who has the right to have access to the instruments of democracy. That makes the business not only an enterprise but an agent of change for Patricia Nelson.
