In June 2008, Schale was hired by Obama for America to run the Tampa-based Florida operation, helping Senator Obama become the first non-incumbent Democrat to win Florida since President Jimmy Carter's win in 1976, leading an effort that the Miami Herald said will "change the way politics is practiced in Florida." In winning Florida, Obama carried most of the critical swing counties in central Florida and registered hundreds of thousands of new voters. Today, Schale is considered one of the top strategists in either party in Florida.