Near miss in campaign to become Marietta’s first Black mayor

A day after losing his first and only political race, 24-year-old IT specialist Sam Foster spent Wednesday asking himself one simple question: “What if?”

Foster came within 87 votes of unseating Marietta’s 78-year-old, four-term incumbent, Mayor Steve “Thunder” Tumlin, to become the city’s youngest and first Black mayor in its 190-year history. It was a margin that amounted to roughly seven votes in each of the city’s 13 precincts.

Foster was tired but calm, using Wednesday to reflect on what might have made the difference in such a tight contest.

He spent the day off the trail for the first time in months, “just decompressing,” before returning to his day job and community work.

“It was hands down the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he said of the five-month sprint. “Every ounce of energy went into the campaign.”

Sam Foster. (Courtesy)

Foster acknowledged that he probably could have done more after his razor-thin loss, like knocked on more doors, raised more money, or shifted strategy, but said the outcome was also shaped by factors beyond his control.

“When it’s that close, you could say a hundred things. It could’ve been the shoes I wore one day when I went to an event. But I’m not in the business of kicking myself while I’m down,” said Foster, who actually hit his “win number” of 5,500 votes.

“It’s one of those ‘shoulda, woulda, coulda’ situations,” he said. “I don’t want to beat myself up over it, but it definitely sent a message that a lot of people in Marietta are ready for change.”

Almost.

With all precincts reported, Tumlin, a former Republican state lawmaker and the city’s longest serving mayor, received 6,762 votes (50.3%).

Foster had 6,675 votes (49.7%).

Mayor Steve Tumlin. (AJC file photo)

Tumlin called the campaign “a dogfight” and told the Marietta Daily Journal that Foster, “got his voters out, that’s the All-American way. I actually got my voters out, but he did a dang good job.”

Foster entered the race as a political neophyte whose only real experience came from attending City Council meetings. His narrow defeat exposed a stark generational and ideological divide.

“Despite his age and lack of experience, Sam brought real substance to the race,” said Andrew Heaton, a principal with Sagamore Hill Consulting and the general consultant on Foster’s campaign. “He cared deeply about the issues, had a command of policy, and approached the job with a seriousness that surprised a lot of people. The campaign he ran and the results bear that out.”

Tumlin, who, at 78, will be 82 years old when his next term ends, ran on preserving Marietta’s small-town character, while Foster advocated for sustainable and inclusive growth.

Foster called for greater housing density and expanded rapid-bus transit to reduce costs and ease mobility.

When Cobb County voters rejected a 1% sales tax to fund transit expansion last year, Foster argued that Marietta, a city of 60,000, couldn’t afford to keep doing nothing.

Heaton said Foster’s close showing underscored a broader shift.

“There’s an appetite in the community for a new generation of leadership,” he said. “There’s a hunger among a good portion of voters to see a different vision for Marietta focused on inclusion, mobility, and smart growth.”

Foster raised $66,000 for his campaign and earned backing from several prominent Cobb County Democrats — among them Chair Lisa Cupid, Commissioner Erick Allen, Sheriff Craig Owens, and state Reps. Lisa Campbell of Kennesaw and Gabriel Sanchez of Smyrna.

Foster knows the age gap drew attention. He also made savvy use of social media, posting a mix of humorous and heartfelt videos of himself biking through the city while sharing his critiques.

In one viral post, he highlighted Tumlin’s veto of Marietta’s recognition of Juneteenth as a city holiday.

“People were asking: ‘Who is this 24-year-old kid with dreadlocks challenging a four-term incumbent?’” Foster said, recalling the chatter about the 54-year age gap. “But once people heard me speak — my ideas, my story — they saw past that. The age difference was a conversation starter. It actually helped more than it hurt.

“Clearly, with how close the race was, enough people believed in me.”

Tumlin performed better in precincts with older voters on average.

Marietta, like much of Cobb County, has seen not only a demographic shift but a political one as well.

At least two Cobb mayors — Michael Owens in Mableton and Al Thurman in Powder Springs — are Black.

Three of the five members of the Cobb County Commission are Black, including Cupid, elected in 2020 as the county’s first Black and first female leader.

In 2024, Kamala Harris became the third consecutive Democratic presidential candidate to win Cobb County, taking 56.8% of the vote. Harris carried Cobb County by 15 points — edging out Joe Biden’s 14-point margin in 2020 — winning all but one precinct in Marietta along the way.

Just eight years earlier, Hillary Rodham Clinton won the county by only two.

“When people talk about Marietta, they often bring up its past,” Foster said. “They think of Leo Frank, lynchings at the square, and the Civil War. But this isn’t that Marietta.

“The city voted 60-40 for Kamala Harris in 2024. She won every ward but one. It’s not some conservative holdout. How well we did proves that.”

Foster carried seven of Marietta’s 13 precincts, performing strongest in areas with higher shares of nonwhite voters.

But according to data compiled by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tumlin secured his overall win by dominating Precinct 4A, a northwest portion of Marietta and one of the city’s least diverse areas.

He earned 1,068 votes there, compared to Foster’s 224.

“I think race always plays a role in some way. As people of color, we know we often have to work harder,” said Foster, noting last-minute attack mailers that painted him as “soft on crime,” despite his focus on housing and mobility. “But I don’t think race was why I lost. It’s part of the dynamic, but it’s not a deal-breaker.”

Foster moved to Marietta in 2019 after growing up in nearby Rockdale County. He came to study information technology at Kennesaw State University’s Marietta campus.

On his own for the first time, Foster said he found a calling. Housing near campus was too expensive, so he shared an off-campus apartment, worked 30 hours a week, and relied on carpools and buses to get around. Those early years, he said, deepened his connection to Marietta’s neighborhoods, downtown, and people.

By the time Foster graduated in 2022, he was attending City Council and County Commission meetings to listen, ask questions and push for change.

Sam Foster. (Courtesy)

He entered the 2025 mayor’s race calling for “a new Marietta” that invested in walkability, affordability, and a clearer vision for the city’s future. His platform emphasized addressing rising costs, preventing displacement, expanding public transit and holding city leaders accountable for long-delayed infrastructure promises.

Reflecting on his campaign, Foster said it was never just about politics. Instead, it was about reimagining Marietta as a city that could grow without losing its character, welcome newcomers without pushing out working families, and make its streets safer for everyone, whether behind a wheel or on two wheels.

Those ideas, his campaign adviser said, aren’t going anywhere.

Heaton, who also managed Democrat Alicia Johnson’s winning race for the Georgia Public Service Commission, said he is already fielding calls about Foster’s future in governance and politics.

The day after, that vision remains intact.

“I’m really proud of all the work we’ve done and the movement we built here,” Foster said. “I’ll keep doing community work — hosting my weekly bike rides, showing up at City Council meetings, and working with A Better Cobb, the nonprofit I cofounded. There’s still more to do.

“As for running for office again, I don’t know yet.”