PALMETTO — A local candidate for the Florida House of Representatives is getting an early start on the campaign season, employing a somewhat unique voter outreach strategy. While campaign text messages are something Manatee County voters may be accustomed to, a personalized birthday greeting from a State Representative hopeful may come as a surprise.
In recent weeks, some voters have reported receiving unsolicited birthday greetings, a gesture more typically associated with family or friends. The messages, however, were sent by candidate Jordan Varnadore, a Republican running for Florida’s House District 71, a seat currently served by Rep. Will Robinson.
Voters who alerted TBT that they had received the messages had two main questions: “Who is this person?” and “How did he know that today was my birthday?”
If you recently received a birthday greeting from Varnadore—or any other candidate—and thought to yourself, “Who is this from?” Well, that was the whole point.
In campaign strategy, this is known as “first touch,” a term that refers to a campaign or candidate’s first impression on voters, and it can set the tone for future interactions and engagement between the candidate’s campaign and a possible voter.
It’s considered a crucial starting point of outreach, and, apparently, Varnadore’s campaign saw an opportunity in the public access to voters’ birthdates.
The following is the transcript of one such message:
Happy Birthday, {insert name}!
This is Jordan Varnadore, candidate for Florida State House District 71, hoping you're having a great day.
If there's anything happening here at home or in our community that I should know about, please let me know.
You can connect with me anytime at VoteForVarnadore.com — and again, happy birthday!
-Jordan Varnadore for State Representative, District 71
Text STOP to OPT OUT.
Paid for by Jordan Varnadore for State Representative, District 71.
The text also included a prerecorded video message.
It’s not hard to see how modern technology has brought fundamental changes in political campaigning and voter outreach strategies. With the now commonplace use of data-driven microtargeting of voters, personalized campaign messaging has become a regular campaign tool—particularly through the use of text messaging, also known as “SMS.”
Nearly all voters today own a smartphone, and fewer households have landlines. Furthermore, data suggests that the practice, once used primarily in business marketing, achieves an open and read rate of upwards of 98% among recipients, making SMS a cost-efficient and effective tool for political advertising as well.
In addition, political campaigns of today can leverage the growing troves of microdata on consumers to not only reach potential future voters with their campaign message, but also to craft those messages optimally persuasive to the specific recipient.
If you aren’t familiar with the term “voter microdata,” this is data that each of us creates about ourselves, often without realizing it. Through public records, consumer habits, and even social media activity, political campaigns can utilize detailed digital profiles of individual voters to craft targeted campaign advertisements, a practice known as “microtargeting.”
The practice is legal within the specific guidelines of federal and state regulations.
In Florida, campaign text messages require a voter’s prior consent if they are sent through automated means, such as mass-SMS, but if the messages are sent manually (person-to-person), prior consent is not required.
Even when consent is not required, there are other requirements, including a “Paid for by” disclaimer, as Varnadore’s campaign included with his text messages. Federal law requires that a recipient be provided an option to opt out with a response text of “STOP,” and that those requests must be honored.
With the 2026 primary election little less than a year away, and candidates hoping to build name recognition and raise campaign funds, voters can count on campaign activities steadily increasing heading into the new year—including unsolicited text messages.
Approximately one week after a local voter received one of Varnadore’s birthday texts, his campaign reached out again, building off that “first touch” birthday message from the week before. This time, the campaign was seeking donations.
The text message stated that Varnadore is a resident of Palmetto, a father of four, and a small business owner, who is “fighting the radical left's attack on our kids' education, our constitutional rights and our small businesses.”
The message continued, “Jordan stands with Trump's America First agenda and DeSantis' fight to keep Florida free,” before concluding with a request for a $10 campaign donation.
Like the initial “first touch” text message, Varnadore’s campaign included the required disclaimer and “opt-out” instructions.
While political SMS may be a cost-effective tool with high engagement metrics, it doesn't come without potential pitfalls. Unlike email or phone calls, text messages can feel intrusive and disruptive as they are pushed directly into a voter's personal communication channel.
Voters frequently express exhaustion with the increasingly overwhelming number of political text messages each election cycle, and opponents of the practice point to privacy concerns.
A bill introduced during the 2025 Florida Legislative Session proposed stricter provisions for voters to opt out of receiving political phone calls and text messages. The proposed measure aimed to provide voters with a clear process to express their lack of consent to receiving such communications and to empower them with the ability to take legal action. The bill died in the Ethics and Elections Committee.
According to his website, Varnadore is a multi-generational resident of Manatee County and a graduate of Palmetto High School who went on to study business marketing and communications.
He currently serves as Secretary on the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee, a position he was appointed to by the Florida GOP after it disbanded the local REC following the 2024 Republican primary election.
According to records available through the Florida Division of Elections, Varnadore entered the District 71 race in mid-July and assigned Rich Heimeyer to be his campaign treasurer. Heimeyer also serves as campaign treasurer to Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier, who is seeking re-election after receiving Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointment to the role in February.
Four other candidates have also declared their candidacy for District 71: Republican Melton Little, Republican Kristen Truong, and, as of this month, Democrat Marie Masferrer has joined the growing field.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Jordan Varnadore as having been appointed to the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee as treasurer. He serves as the committee's secretary. We apologize for any confusion.
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Cat L
As a person who SUPER appreciates privacy, I'm not a fan of this tactic. It's manipulative and invasive. Familiarity not earned is intrusive.
This is also the least inspiring candidate on the board, this far.
Wednesday, October 1, 2025 Report this
David Daniels
I have read up on Mr. Varnadore. The fact that he was appointed by the corrupt RPOF, the group that kicked out the duly elected state committee persons because the elected persons weren’t developer puppets, tells you enough not to support Varnadore. These Depriest/Pedicini type, in your face text messages are a warning sign. Varnadore would mean more of the same so-called “representation” we’ve been getting from developer money-backed representatives. We need to send a message by electing a grass roots person with real integrity. This aint that person. The primary is less than a year away, on August 20.
Wednesday, October 1, 2025 Report this