Doug Stafford
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| Doug Stafford | |||
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| Basic facts | |||
| Expertise: | Voter outreach | ||
| Affiliation: | Republican | ||
| Education: | University of Maryland | ||
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Doug Stafford is a political strategist who has worked closely with Rand Paul. He was a senior advisor to Paul's 2016 presidential campaign and formerly worked as Paul's Senate chief of staff. Born in Long Island, N.Y., Stafford is a graduate of the University of Maryland.
Career
Early career
Prior to working for Paul, Stafford began work at the National Right to Work Committee (NRTWC), a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that works for legislation against what it calls compulsory unionism. He began there as a junior writer. He left NRTWC in 2010, having become the organization's vice president.[1]
Rand Paul U.S. Senate election, 2010
In 2010, Stafford joined Paul's United States Senate campaign as a paid advisor while still working for NRTWC.[2] He initially worked "on direct mail for small-dollar fundraising and voter outreach."[3] Eventually, Stafford took on broader consulting roles in the campaign, including attempts to connect with grassroots activists.[3] According to a Politico profile of Stafford in 2013, Paul's campaign manager for the Senate race, Jesse Benton, saw Stafford as a key player in Paul's victory: "Bringing Doug onto Team Rand was one of the best moves I ever made, because without Doug, I’m not sure we would have won the campaign."[3]
Rand Paul chief of staff
From 2010 to 2013, Stafford served as Paul's Senate chief of staff. Characterizing him as an anti-union lobbyist, Dan Eggen of The Washington Post considered Stafford's hire as a sign of "the endurance of Washington's traditional power structure, even in the wake of an election dominated by insurgent rhetoric."[4]
RAND PAC
Beginning in 2013, Stafford became the executive director of RAND PAC, Paul's leadership PAC, which was founded to support "Pro-Liberty, Pro-Constitution candidates in Kentucky and across the country."[5] In the 2014 election cycle, RAND PAC donated to a total of 17 candidates for Congress, all Republicans. Of the nine candidates for the House, six were from either Iowa or New Hampshire.[6]
Rand Paul presidential campaign, 2016
- See also: Rand Paul presidential campaign, 2016
In May 2013, Stafford left his role as chief of staff, the first indication that Paul would run for president. He then became a senior advisor to the 2016 Paul presidential campaign. Stafford and Paul began early preparations for the race, especially "in laying the groundwork among voters who haven’t been attracted to the GOP message," according to The Washington Post.[7][8][9]
Paul suspended his presidential run on February 3, 2016.[10] After Paul suspended his campaign, Stafford told reporters on a conference call that Paul's message did not come across because Donald Trump's campaign sucked "oxygen out of the room." Stafford said all the attention given to the Trump campaign "really played into it being more difficult to get the message out than anyone anticipated."[11]
Noteworthy events
National Right to Work Direct Mailing
In 2013, former NRTWC operative Dennis Fusaro accused the committee of engaging in direct mailing campaigns for candidates in the 2008, 2010 and 2012 campaign cycles. Specifically, Fusaro claimed that in 2008 and 2010, the organization was involved in "mass mailings written, organized, printed and mailed by NRTWC staff, using NRTWC equipment, in close coordination with candidates."[12] As a 501(c)(4), NRTWC may engage in some political lobbying but not in direct or indirect campaigning to candidates.[13] Fusaro leaked a recorded phone conversation with Stafford from 2010, which blogger Lee Stranahan alleged to show Stafford discussing how to bring candidates into the direct mailing program and how to handle postage for these specific candidate mailings.[14][15] As of August 2017, no charges had been filed against Stafford or NRTWC.
Personal Adoption Solicitations (2015)
On February 24, 2015, The Washington Times reported that Stafford had solicited funds from political connections for his personal adoption of another child.[16] Stafford reportedly contacted a number of political insiders through email appeals "to raise $30,000 quickly."[16] While many of Stafford's appeals were made in private emails, he disclosed the names of donors on the fundraising page for the adoption.[17] The Washington Times article wasclear to note that Stafford's "actions don’t violate any laws but raise questions of about [sic] judgment since his request for money opens the door for special interests to use a donation to the adoption effort to curry favor or access to a soon-to-be presidential candidate."[16]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Doug Stafford. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ National Right to Work Committee, "About Us," accessed April 28, 2015
- ↑ Open Secrets Blog, "Head of Paul’s 50-State Operation is Accused of Earlier Questionable Work," accessed April 29, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Politico, "50 Politicos to Watch: Doug Stafford," accessed April 28, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "Rhetoric aside, many incoming Republicans hiring lobbyists," accessed May 1, 2015
- ↑ RAND PAC, "Mission," accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Open Secrets, "Reinventing a New Direction," accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "Rand Paul moves toward a 2016 presidential run," accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Rare, "Paul adviser: The Federal Reserve is 'downright scared'; of Rand Paul’s Audit the Fed bill," accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ New Republic, "President Rand Paul," accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Rand Paul dropping out of White House race," February 3, 2016
- ↑ The Libertarian Republic, "Rand Paul Aide Blames Trump For Failed Presidential Bid," February 3, 2016
- ↑ Open Secrets, "National, Iowa Right to Work Groups Subsidized State Candidates, Misled IRS, Former Employee Charges," accessed May 1, 2015
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "Social Welfare Organizations," accessed January 14, 2014
- ↑ Open Secrets, "Strong Evidence Emerges on Right to Work’s Political Activity," accessed May 1, 2015
- ↑ LeeStranahan.com, "Secret Audio: Top Rand Paul Staffer Doug Stafford Managing Illegal Campaign Op," accessed May 1, 2015
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 The Washington Times, "Exclusive: Rand Paul top adviser soliciting money for personal adoption," accessed April 29, 2015
- ↑ Adopt Together, "Elizabeth & Doug Stafford are adopting a boy from the United States," accessed May 1, 2015
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