Tolbert was born and raised in
Harlem. He graduated from the
Bronx High School of Science, where he was a classmate of
Christopher "Kid" Reid, the rap musician and actor, and
John T. Georgopoulos, a
fantasy sports writer. He later earned a bachelor's degree from
Hunter College. After leaving the Edwards campaign in 2004, Tolbert was the Nevada state director of
America Coming Together, a
527 group dedicated to
get out the vote efforts, primarily for Democratic candidates. Tolbert served as the liaison to ethnic, religious and cultural groups in the city for
Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg in his bid for a second term in the
2005 mayoral election. with the Democrats making a strong effort in a state that had traditionally been solidly Republican. Barack Obama took Nevada's five electoral votes, defeating
John McCain by a 56%-42% margin, carrying Nevada by 120,000 votes in a state the
George W. Bush had won by 20,000 votes in the
2004 election. On the evening of November 2, 2008, in
North Las Vegas, Nevada, Tolbert suffered a heart attack while driving alone near the Obama campaign offices. ==Legacy==