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Jeff Roe
| Jeff Roe | |||
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| Basic facts | |||
| Organization: | Axiom Strategies | ||
| Role: | Founder and principal | ||
| Location: | Kansas City, Mo. | ||
| Affiliation: | Republican | ||
| Education: | Northwest Missouri State University | ||
| Website: | Official website | ||
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Jeff Roe is a Republican political strategist and founder and principal of the Kansas City-based consulting firm Axiom Strategies. In 2023, Roe began working as an advisor to Never Back Down PAC, a super PAC aligned with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R).[1] Roe resigned from the PAC in December 2023.[2]
Roe was the campaign manager for Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign and served as a longtime strategist for Sam Graves (R-Mo.). He was also a consultant on Mike Huckabee's (R) 2008 presidential bid as well as Rick Perry's (R) 2012 presidential campaign.
Career
Early career
Roe began his political career working on Republican candidate Sam Graves' 1994 campaign for the Missouri State Senate. He continued to work with Graves on his 2000 House campaign for Missouri's 6th Congressional District. Graves won the election, and Roe became chief of staff for Graves' first two terms.[3]
Axiom Strategies
In 2005, Roe founded Axiom Strategies in Kansas City, Missouri. In 2006, Roe worked on Graves' campaign as chief strategist. Graves was seeking re-election in Missouri's 6th district and won. While he continued to work on Graves' campaign in 2008, he also began working on former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's (R) 2008 presidential campaign, where he coordinated phone contact and get out the vote efforts for the campaign.[4] That same year, Roe expanded Axiom Strategies to Washington, D.C.
Roe and his firm worked on numerous congressional elections around the country between 2010 and 2011.[5] In 2010, he worked on former Rep. Allen West's (R-Fla.) campaign for Florida's 22nd district.
Richard Mourdock campaign, 2012
In 2012, Roe was a general consultant on Richard Mourdock's (R-Ind.) Senate campaign. Roe worked with Jason Miller while on the Mourdock campaign. Miller was senior communications advisor for Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign.[6] Although Mourdock won the Republican nomination over the incumbent Richard Lugar, Mourdock lost to Democratic candidate Joe Donnelly.
Rick Perry presidential campaign, 2012
That same year, Roe also worked on then-Texas Governor Rick Perry's (R) 2012 presidential campaign. Roe dealt with Perry's direct mailing and was a part of the campaign strategy team.[5] Cruz's 2016 national security advisor, Victoria Coates, national press secretary Catherine Frazier and finance director Lauren Lofstrom also worked on Perry's 2012 campaign.[7] In 2012, Axiom Strategies also expanded, esablishing a consulting office in Dallas, Texas.
Candidate Command
In 2013, Roe transferred Axiom's direct voter activity to a second company, Candidate Command.[8] In 2014, Candidate Command worked with a PAC called Citizens for Fairness in Missouri.[9] The PAC's deputy treasurer was James C. Thomas III who had worked with Roe on past campaigns and signed on as treasurer of Catherine Hanaway's campaign for governor of Missouri.[10][11]
Ted Cruz presidential campaign, 2016
- See also: Ted Cruz presidential campaign, 2016
In March 2015, Ted Cruz officially announced his candidacy for presidency. Roe was appointed Cruz's campaign manager. According to a Politico report at the time of Roe's hiring, Roe was seen as instrumental in connecting with "conservative grassroots and with evangelical voters" because of his vast experience in direct-to-voter campaigns. [7]
Roe's management of the Cruz campaign focused on steady and early communications. Part of Roe's operational design in Iowa was to have volunteers working with "caucus books" specialized to each voting precinct. Roe explained to National Review that the books contained the names of supporters, who those supporters were also considering voting for, that supporter's key issues in the race and the best mode of communication for that voter. Roe said, "This has never been done on our side of the aisle. Knowing the issue they care about, knowing how to talk to them, and knowing who they’re choosing between? It’s just never been done."[12]
Cruz suspended his presidential campaign on May 3, 2016, after losing the Indiana Republican primary to Donald Trump.[13] In a video after Cruz's campaign suspension, Roe said, "This campaign, to a person, I feel like this is nearly a regret-free campaign. We literally did every single thing we could do."[14]
Campaign approach
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Roe has been known in Missouri political circles as a take-no-prisoners strategist whose tactics, generally on behalf of conservative Republicans, are as questionable as they are effective."[15] In 2012, when Roe worked for Ted Cruz's U.S. Senate opponent, David Dewhurst, he sent mailers to voters claiming, "Ted Cruz worked against our country."[16] In 2015, Citizens for Fairness in Missouri launched radio ads calling then-Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich a weak candidate whose opponents would "squash him like the little bug that he is."[17]
Roe sees his approach as part of a hard yet realistic strategy to win votes under scrutiny. He told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "You strap it on in the political battlefield and you’re going to have things said about you. You strap on the chinstrap and go to war."[17] In 2016, he told Chris Wallace of "Fox News Sunday," "Your entire life is under is going to go under the microscope (as a candidate). And I think people want someone with them that will ruthlessly defend them. … Ruthless, the context of it to me is it’s just all in.[18]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "DeSantis-aligned PAC staffs up, brings on Ted Cruz’s campaign manager," March 22, 2023
- ↑ Politico, "Republican strategist Jeff Roe quits pro-DeSantis super PAC amid turmoil," December 16, 2023
- ↑ Axiom Strategies, "Our Staff," accessed May 1, 2015
- ↑ The Missouri Times, "Jeff Roe chosen to speak at CPAC," March 4, 2013
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kraske, Steve. (2011). Jeff Roe evolves into a mainstream player. Kansas City Star.
- ↑ Politico, "Sorry, Democrats: Mourdock a seasoned foe," May 9, 2012
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Politico, "The power players behind Ted Cruz's campaign," April 20, 2015
- ↑ The Missouri Times, "Axiom Strategies establishes new direct voter contact firm," August 14, 2013
- ↑ Missouri Ethics Commission, "Committee Disclosure Report," accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Missouri Ethics Commission, "Statement of Committee Organization," accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ New York Times, "Missouri Candidate Picks Up Where She Left Off After Rival’s Suicide," March 29, 2015
- ↑ National Review, "Ted Cruz's Long Road to Iowa Victory," February 2, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Ted Cruz drops out of presidential race," May 3, 2016
- ↑ Kansas City Star, "Jeff Roe: ‘No regrets’ as Cruz campaign winds down," May 16, 2016
- ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "'Ruthless' Jeff Roe, veteran of rough Missouri politics, in spotlight after Cruz win," February 3, 2016
- ↑ New Republic, "Ted Cruz's Howitzer," January 20, 2016
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Citizens for Fairness was front group for Hanaway's consultant," March 15, 2015
- ↑ Kansas City Star, "KC’s Jeff Roe featured as ‘ruthless’ but teary Cruz campaign chief on Fox," January 24, 2016
