I Ran for Political Office Before I Was an Uber Driver - Daily Drive 2009
Most people know me as an Uber driver and content creator. What you might not know is that in 2012, I ran for the New York State Assembly as a Republican.
It wasn’t a career ambition. It started over coffee with a friend who worked in politics. I was giving him unsolicited campaign marketing advice, and he looked me dead in the eye and said:
“Don’t tell me how to do my job. If you think you know all about politics, you should go do it yourself.”
Next thing I knew, he had connected me with the Republican Party. They liked my background, including my military service, accounting experience, graduate degree in economics, and small business experience, and suggested I run.
First they said I should run for Congress. But after redistricting, they steered me toward the State Assembly. My opponent, Bill McGee, was a long-serving Democrat representing a rural, farming district.
Campaigning 101: More Than Just Politics
Running for office taught me that politics, policy, economics, and campaigns are four separate beasts:
Campaigns: The public-facing work: ads, speeches, knocking on doors.
Policy: The laws themselves, good or bad.
Politics: The behind-the-scenes negotiations that shape those laws.
Economics: Measuring the results of policy in the real world.
My passion has always been economics, measuring whether policies actually work.
Lessons I Still Use as an Uber Driver
1. Handle Hard Conversations with Empathy
I knocked on like 6,000 doors. And let me tell you, obviously, people get fired up about politics. I learned to listen without debating, or at least I try to do that. As an Uber driver, I use the same skills. Whether it’s a passenger who dislikes Elon Musk or someone who thinks EVs are a waste, I just try to hear them out.
2. Embrace the Grind
Campaigning was exhausting, day after day of knocking on hundreds of doors, having the same conversations. Driving 12-hour Uber shifts has a consistent rhythm: repetitive questions and constant interaction. You learn to reengage every time, even when you’ve told the same story 20 times.
3. See the System for What It Is
Politics was just as messy as you imagine, fundraising quotas, party loyalty over merit, even illegal tactics like forged petition signatures. It left me with a bad taste, but also a clear-eyed view of how power and money drive decisions.
The Loss (and a Funny Story)
At a teacher’s union event, my opponent literally fell asleep on stage. At the same time, I presented my ideas for increasing teacher pay and giving them greater control over their budgets. I thought I made a strong case. The union still endorsed him. Why? Party loyalty. That’s politics.
I lost the race, but I gained lessons that serve me every day in my work and life:
Listen more than you talk.
Work hard, even when it’s repetitive.
Understand the system you’re in so you can navigate it effectively.
Why I’m Sharing This Now
Some of you found old articles about my campaign and asked about it. Yes, it’s true — I once ran for office. It feels like a lifetime ago, but the lessons stuck.
Whether it’s politics or rideshare driving, the same truths apply: be professional, be patient, and treat every interaction like it matters.
Stay safe out there.
— Levi
