David Roberts

David D. Roberts is an American politician, bureaucrat, economic development official, author, entrepreneur and historian from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Roberts founded Sooner Strategies in January of 2020 and served as the chief executive until the Fall of 2022. Submitting his resignation in September 2022, he officially accepted a formal role with the Oklahoma Democratic Party serving as the Director of Development and External Relations. Roberts would serve a full year in his role at the Oklahoma Democratic Party before accepting a position as the Political Director for the Oklahoma AFL-CIO, where he currently serves lobbying for legislation that advances the rights of workers. Roberts successfully authored Political Campaign Playbook, pulling from his life's work in politics and government to provide readers with the industry’s, most valued and guarded information in terms of operating, successful political campaigns, and getting elected to public office.

​Born in Poteau, Oklahoma, in 1985, Roberts was raised in rural McCurtain, Haskell County, Oklahoma. He graduated from McCurtain High School in McCurtain, Oklahoma winning the full academic scholarship, the Charles L. Ford Scholarship to Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. At NSU, Roberts excelled both inside the classroom and in the university's extracurricular organizations. As a student of Political Science, Roberts served on a wide-range of boards and organizations including serving on the Northeastern Student Activities Board, the Model United Nations, the Interfraternity Council (IFC), President of the NSU College Democrats, and President of his fraternity, the historic Phi Lambda Chi Fraternity's Beta Chapter. Roberts has received numerous awards and citations that include servings as Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry's student-host at his inaugural ball, an Oklahoma State House of Representative Citation for Leadership, and the George W. Bush Volunteer Service Award. Roberts is a National Merit Scholar, an Oklahoma Interscholastic Press Association award recipient for Feature Journalism and Opinion Commentary. He has been involved in activism and government in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia, Montana, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. He has personally written and acquired more than $1.5 million in state and federal funding for local government organizations and rural communities.

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As a current official of the Democratic Party, Roberts divides his time between Oklahoma City, Fort Smith, Arkansas and Washington, DC. Identifying himself as a gay man as early as 2004, Roberts proudly attached this label to himself long before the national trend leaned towards acceptance. Roberts advocated for marriage equality and other gay rights issues across the nation including in rural red-state Oklahoma. He continues to be a passionate advocate for equality and fight for issues relating to gender and LGBTQ+.