• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, July 22, 2015

In preparation for the 2016 election and beyond, programmatic ad tech firm Rubicon Project on Wednesday announced it has opened an office in Washington, D.C.

“Google has been the legacy political advertising player in the market for years,” said Dallas Lawrence, SVP and head of communications at Rubicon. “However, as campaigns become more sophisticated about data, targeting and the desire to reach consumers on the most premium sites, we’re seeing significant interest in our offering.”

Rubicon has been involved with political advertising for years, Lawrence said, but the “next logical step in providing real insights and support to the D.C. market” meant moving in to the actual area.

Theresa Mueller, formerly of Rocket Fuel, has been tapped to lead the new office as director of political and advocacy, buyer cloud sales. She worked from Rocket Fuel’s D.C. office. She has also held positions at APCO Worldwide and Ogilvy Washington.

Additionally, Lawrence, former chief global digital strategist for Burson-Marsteller in Washington, D.C. and director of communications for George W. Bush’s Executive Branch communications team in 2003, will take on the additional role of senior political advisor at Rubicon.

The announcement comes as political interest in programmatic ad tech picks up steam. Rubicon is not the only company making waves in this particular area -- iHeartMedia hired Kenny Day to lead its political programmatic efforts just last week -- and it’s unlikely to be the last.

That’s because these tech companies are simply following the money. A Strata political survey from last year found that 85% of political agencies plan to use programmatic for their media-buying efforts.