Quarterly Advocacy Brief: 2026 Midterm Elections: What's at Stake for Horticulture
Join AmericanHort for a webinar exploring what the November midterm elections mean for your business and the horticulture industry. Guest speakers from Mehlman Consulting will discuss the election outcomes and how the results could shape action on workforce policy, the Farm Bill, trade, taxes, and other industry priorities.
Sage Eastman brings more than two decades of political and policy experience, including senior roles with the House Ways and Means Committee. As a partner at Mehlman Consulting, a bipartisan government relations firm, he helps businesses and trade associations navigate Washington’s changing political landscape.
With experience in senior leadership roles across key Senate Committees, including the Appropriations, Judiciary, and Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committees, Erica Chabot has built a reputation of creativity, bipartisanship and results, including as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Plan to attend and bring your questions about the issues affecting your operation—and what AmericanHort members should watch as the next Congress takes shape.
Thursday, November 5
12:00-1:15 PM ET
Available for Premium Members and Lighthouse Executives only. Learn how to become a Premium member.
Our Speakers
Sage Eastman
Principal, Mehlman Consulting
Sage is a senior Republican strategist with more than two decades of policy, political and government experience. Steeped in political campaigns and policy debates, Eastman is a sought-after advisor to a diverse group of businesses (from Fortune 50 companies to startups), trade associations, Members of Congress and their staff.
While Eastman is often utilized for his tax and health care expertise, his close relationships with Congressional leaders and wide respect from both sides of the aisle and on both sides of Capitol Hill make him a go-to for clients looking to affect a broad range of issues. With deep insights into Committee and Leadership thinking, Eastman has helped clients secure key victories amidst bicameral negotiations and provided guidance necessary to sustain lengthy legislative campaigns.
Before joining Mehlman Consulting, Eastman spearheaded several tax, health and trade efforts on the Hill— leading to the successful enactment of some of the largest reform efforts in Washington, DC, including three longed-stalled trade agreements, the tri-committee rewrite of the Sustainable Growth Rate (the so-called “doc fix”) and permanent extension of critical tax policy.
During his six years as a senior counselor to the Ways and Means Committee—serving variously as Senior Advisor, Deputy Staff Director and Director of Strategy—Roll Call named Eastman on multiple occasions to its “Fabulous 50” list, the Capitol Hill newspaper’s annual list of top Congressional staff.
Earlier in his career, Eastman was Communications Director and Senior Strategist to Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI). He joined Rep. Camp’s staff after nearly a decade in Michigan politics, where he first worked for then-Gov. John Engler, spearheaded the state GOP’s communications and research efforts, and served in the executive office of the Michigan Attorney General.
Erica Chabot
Principal, Mehlman Consulting
A seasoned Washington veteran, Erica joined Mehlman Consulting after spending more than two decades working on Capitol Hill. With experience in senior leadership roles across key Senate Committees, including the Appropriations, Judiciary, and Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committees, Erica built a reputation of creativity, bipartisanship and results.
As the Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for former Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a former Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Erica managed the day-to-day legislative agenda for the Senate’s most senior member. There, she led from conception to actualization Senator Leahy’s member appropriations priorities, helping to direct hundreds of millions of dollars in programmatic and directed spending to Vermont. She was also on the front lines of negotiations over year-end spending packages and emergency spending bills and provided advice and guidance to other member offices on their appropriations priorities.
As the Communications Director for the Senate Judiciary Committee, Erica directed and implemented press and messaging strategies for major legislative priorities including patent reform and other intellectual property initiatives, immigration reform and border security, criminal justice initiatives, and judicial nominations, including nominees to the Supreme Court.
Most recently, as the majority Staff Director for the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, Erica helped shepherd into law a permanent summer feeding benefit for millions of vulnerable children, and initiated the bipartisan drafting efforts for the Farm Bill – a sweeping legislative effort that encompassed both authorizations and appropriations of funds for programs that support the nation’s agriculture industry, climate, conservation and forestry efforts, food assistance for vulnerable children and families, rural development and energy investments and more.