Hooff Cooksey, Senior Vice President with Look Ahead Strategies, has been named to the prestigious 2025 “40 Under 40” list by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC), recognizing the rising stars shaping the future of political consulting in the United States.
“Since joining Look Ahead Strategies in 2023, Hooff has been a tremendous asset both to the firm and the clients we service,” said Look Ahead Strategies’ Managing Director Kyle Reliford. “Hooff’s ability to craft winning narratives and drive successful initiatives for our political, policy, and issue advocacy clients across the country make him an obvious and well-deserved choice for this recognition.”
Hooff has worked in the political and public affairs spaces for over a decade. During that time, he served in advisory and managerial roles for top tier presidential, gubernatorial, Senate, and House races across the country. In 2018, Hooff managed Governor Kim Reynolds’ successful bid for Governor of Iowa, making her the first female elected to the position. Hooff also advised a number of Senate battleground campaigns while at the NRSC before forming his own firm with a focus on political, independent expenditure, and public affairs projects. Hooff is a native of Alexandria, VA and received his B.S. from The University of Texas at Austin. He is an Officer in the United States Navy Reserves.
The honorees were celebrated during a special ceremony at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, CO, as part of the 2025 Pollie Awards & Conference held on May 19, 2025. This annual event convenes the nation’s top political consultants, technology leaders, pollsters, and media experts to explore cutting-edge campaign strategies and innovations.
Selection for the 40 Under 40 list is highly competitive and bipartisan—only 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans nationwide are chosen. Recipients are evaluated for their outstanding contributions to political strategy, innovation in campaign work, and demonstrated leadership within the industry.
Hooff joins a distinguished group of peers whose talent and dedication are driving the future of political consulting forward.
View the full list of 2025 40 Under 40 winners here.
About AAPC
Founded in 1969, the AAPC is a bipartisan organization of political and public affairs professionals dedicated to improving democracy. The AAPC has over 2,100 members hailing from all corners of the globe. It is the largest association of political and public affairs professionals in the world. For more information, see www.theaapc.org.
About the 2025 AAPC Pollie Conference
As the premier industry event, the 2025 Pollie Awards & Conference was held in Colorado Springs, CO from May 19-21, 2025, and brings the leading political professionals in the world together to network and hear from top technology innovators, pollsters, pundits and service providers. The Conference features cutting-edge programming on key industry trends, designed to empower attendees to leverage the latest techniques in campaign strategy and management. The Conference is widely recognized as the must-attend event for political consultants, media buyers, public affairs specialists, suppliers, industry leaders and journalists. For details, visit www.theaapc.org.
About Look Ahead Strategies
Look Ahead Strategies is a highly specialized, full-service communications and research firm serving political, policy, and issue advocacy clients. Look Ahead’s experienced professionals have worked on more than 500 political campaigns, issue advocacy efforts, and policy debates across the United States.
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