'You can’t really let your guard down.'
Ask lobbyist Zach Hubbard what causes him the most anxiety heading into the 2026 Legislative Session, and he won’t say the state budget, or continuing to make an impression as a 29-year-old lobbyist in a city of seasoned professionals, or even working for a boss who has a “Jokes to Offend Men” book hanging around a meeting room.
He’s most stressed, and excited, about being David Henry Hubbard’s father. Hubbard’s wife, Mary Clare, gave birth to their first child on Christmas Day.
“Nervous as hell, man,” Hubbard said a week before his son was born. “I’m not nervous about the diaper changing or anything like that. I’m nervous about just, like, you got to always be on. You can’t really let your guard down.”
And that’s sort of how Hubbard, in his fifth year with Rubin, Turnbull & Associates, approaches lobbying. He’s not worried about things getting messy. Instead, he’s always on, ready to take on a challenge and learn from others who have succeeded.
“My dad was a great dad and I just point to a lot of like, good dads. I’m just trying to mimic their behavior,” he said. “I feel like that’s a lot of what lobbying is, mimicking behavior. And I’ve been able to mimic a lot of the behavior of Heather (Turnbull) and those sorts of people. But with dads, I’m just going to mimic a lot of the good dads in my life.”
Before coming to Rubin, Turnbull & Associates, Hubbard worked in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office of Policy and Budget. He also worked on Montana Sen. Steve Daines’ campaign and in former state Sen. Jeff Brandes’ Office.
And then, like now, he’s tried to learn by observing at each stop, including lessons from the DeSantis administration.
“The Governor and his team, they’re fearless. I don’t think that they’re afraid of a fight. I don’t think they’re willing to back down on their true values,” Hubbard said. “When you’re a lobbyist, sometimes you do hit a brick wall, and being able to push through that is what separates good lobbyists from great lobbyists. The ability to not quit is most important.”
Turnbull admits that when Hubbard came to the firm as a 25-year-old, she was concerned about his lack of experience. That fear was quickly put to rest.
“We forget all the time he’s not even 30 yet. He’s just so wise beyond his years,” Turnbull said. “He immediately came in and has, by far, became our problem solver. He can take any complex issue and just grasp it really quick and clearly explain it so that we’re all like, ‘Oh! That makes sense.’”
She said there are lobbyists who have been in the capital much longer who don’t have Hubbard’s problem-solving skills.
“That’s a gift,” she said.
She also praised him for his sense of humor, humility and ability to take a stressful situation and put people at ease.
“He’s so good and far beyond where I was at his age as far as understanding our craft,” Turnbull said. “He’s just a quick study. He just gets it. Bill (Rubin) and I won the lotto.”
Turnbull calls him the future of the firm, which is good, because Hubbard wants to be there awhile.
“I hope I’m in my forever job,” Hubbard said.
If he is, it might also be good for hockey fans. Hubbard grew up in the Tampa area and is a big Tampa Bay Lightning fan. Tallahassee lost its minor league hockey team, the Tiger Sharks, years before Hubbard arrived in town.
“Hockey’s the best,” he said. “I would much rather watch a football game from the comfort of my own couch, but to go to a Lightning game is one of the best events you can have.”
Hockey in Tallahassee is a conversation he’s had with friends over a cigar and a whiskey, and with local officials when he’s had the chance. And despite fatherhood and a busy workload lobbying, he’d be willing to help make hockey happen, too.
Pro bono, he said.
“We need to get a hockey team in Tallahassee. We need to get ice so we can play hockey,” he said.
