Jon Downs
| Jon Downs | |||
 | |||
| Basic facts | |||
| Location: | Washington, D.C. | ||
| Expertise: | Political ads & messaging | ||
| Affiliation: | Republican | ||
| Education: | University of Wisconsin-Madison (1999, B.A., political science & history) | ||
| Website: | Official website | ||
| |||
| Connections | |||
| Danny Diaz, George W. Bush, Mark Earley, Allen West, Ted Cruz, Ron Paul, Daniel S. Sullivan | |||
Jon Downs is a Republican political strategist who lives in Washington, D.C. He served as head of media and advertising for Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential campaign.[1]
According to CNN, Downs is "known for his hard-hitting and occasionally quirky style."[2] National Review has referred to him as “a political operative turned media maestro.”[3]
He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1999 with a double major in political science and history. He is a founding partner of FP1 Strategies, a political consulting firm.[4][5][6]
Career
According to the biography listed on his website, "Downs has worked to elect candidates to office at all levels of government, overseeing the creative process from concept to filming and editing to placement. Downs has also designed messaging and communications’ strategies for a number of high-profile issue campaigns, ranging from energy independence to patent reform."[5]
Throughout the course of his career, Downs has taken on a wide variety of clients, including those outside the GOP establishment. In 2000, Downs worked on George W. Bush's (R) presidential campaign. In 2001, he worked as deputy campaign manager and political director on Mark Earley's gubernatorial campaign in Virginia. After Earley's defeat, Downs worked in the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs at the United States Department of Justice.[5][2]
After he left the Department of Justice, he worked on-and-off for DMN media, a group run in part by political operative Terry Nelson. After leaving DMN in 2008, Downs started his own one-man outfit, Bright Media, which he operated until 2011. During this time, he created ads for Allen West's (R) 2010 congressional campaign.[2][6]
During the 2012 election cycle, Downs crafted ads for Ted Cruz's Texas senatorial campaign and Ron Paul's (R) presidential bid. According to the Washington Post, Downs surprised many of his contemporaries when he chose to represent Paul. "Downs crafted a variety of tough and attention-grabbing commercials attacking Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum before Paul's campaign faltered in the early primary states." In 2014, Downs created for Dan Sullivan's (R) Alaska senatorial campaign. [6]
Since 2011, Downs has been a partner at FP1 Strategies, "a public affairs, media relations, digital communications and advertising firm specializing in project management, strategic planning, message development and advertising for political and issue-based campaigns." He co-founded the group with Nelson and Danny Diaz, who served as campaign manager on Jeb Bush's (R) 2016 presidential campaign.[3]
Jeb Bush presidential campaign, 2016
- See also: Jeb Bush presidential campaign, 2016
After exploring the possibility of a presidential run for several months, Bush officially announced his candidacy on June 15, 2015, at Miami Dade College. He largely focused on economic issues and said he would "take Washington – the static capital of this dynamic country – out of the business of causing problems." Bush, who served as governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007, is the son of former President George H.W. Bush and the brother of former President George W. Bush. He is the first brother of a president to run for the office since the Kennedy family, Robert in 1968 and Ted in 1980.[7]
Long-time Bush advisor Sally Bradshaw said Downs' "expertise and experience will be critical to communicating Governor Bush's conservative ideas for greater economic growth and opportunity."[2]
Bush ended his run for the White House after faring poorly in the Iowa Caucuses as well as primary elections in New Hampshire and South Carolina.[8] At a gathering of supporters in the Palmetto State on February 20, 2016, he said:
| “ | The people of Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina have spoken, and I really respect their decision, so tonight I am suspending my campaign.[8][9] | ” |
See also
- Jeb Bush
- Jeb Bush presidential campaign, 2016
- Danny Diaz
- George W. Bush
- Allen West
- Ted Cruz
- Ron Paul
- Daniel S. Sullivan
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Washington Post, "Meet the people who will try to get Jeb Bush elected president," June 15, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 CNN, "Jeb Bush adds veteran consultants to likely campaign team," February 2, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 FP1 Strategies, "About Us," accessed June 23, 2015 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "fp" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ LinkedIn, "Jon Downs," accessed June 23, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 FP1 Strategies, "Jon Downs," accessed June 23, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Washington Post, "The man behind the Ron Paul ads," December 12, 2011
- ↑ The New York Times, "In Announcing Run, Jeb Bush Plays Down His Surname," June 15, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 NBC News, "Jeb Bush Suspends 2016 Presidential Campaign," February 20, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
