 In 2005, Schale left the legislature to take over the political operations of the State House Democratic Caucus, where under his leadership and working with former state senator Dan Gelber, the Democrats had their best two-year election cycle in history, picking up nine districts previously held by Republicans, for which Schale was called the "newest star of the Florida Democratic Party" by the St. Petersburg Times, and "Wunderkind" by the National Journal.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.