Sam Shumate’s interest in politics began in high school serving as a NC General Assembly House Page, a N.C. Governors’ Page, and working on various local campaigns in Cumberland County. In 2014, Sam moved to Washington, D.C. to study at American University. His interest in the legislative process led him to intern with U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, the Heritage Foundation, Americans for Prosperity, and the House Education and Workforce Committee under Chairwoman Virginia Foxx. In 2018, he joined the Washington D.C. office of U.S. Congressman Ted Budd as a Legislative Correspondent. In this role he managed a legislative portfolio covering fourteen policy areas and the Congressman's mail program, which sent over 100,000 letters addressing over 130 legislative topics. In the summer of 2019, Sam was promoted to Legislative Aide and handled a policy portfolio focused on agriculture, rural development, military, education, energy, and environmental legislation.
In 2020, Sam returned to North Carolina to serve as Congressman Budd’s first Field Representative. In that role, Sam primarily focused on building relationships with major stakeholders including elected officials, industry leaders, chambers of commerce, institutions of higher education, and small-business owners. Sam regularly assisted Piedmont communities with accessing federal resources and directed constituents to the proper channels to get assistance with casework issues.
After Congressman Budd was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2023, Sam became Senator Budd's Southeastern Regional Director and relocated to his family's farm in Lee County. As a Regional Director, Sam worked tirelessly to build and maintain strong relationships in 21 counties including Wake, Durham, and Cumberland. Additionally, Sam served as Senator Budd’s primary state representative at Fort Bragg, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, MCAS Cherry Point, and Camp Lejeune. He continued to represent the office through providing legislative updates to the Senator, assisting constituents, and meetings with local leaders to identify avenues for federal assistance.
Sam is a Fayetteville, North Carolina native and enjoys farming, hunting, fishing, shooting sporting clays, and time with family outside of work. Since graduating from American University (B.A. in Communications, Law, Economics, and Government) in 2018, he has had many opportunities to learn about the legislative process and is eager to utilize his knowledge to continue helping North Carolina communities in his new role with Electus Government Affairs.