Katie Walsh
This article is about Katie Walsh, a Republican political strategist. For the 2022 Maryland House of Delegates District 14 candidate, see Kate Walshe.
| Katie Walsh | |||
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| Basic facts | |||
| Organization: | Republican National Committee | ||
| Role: | Senior data and digital advisor | ||
| Location: | Washington, D.C. | ||
| Affiliation: | Republican | ||
| Education: | George Washington University | ||
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Katie Walsh is a Republican political strategist. As of July 2017, she was the senior data and digital advisor for the Republican National Committee (RNC).[1] From March to July 2017, she was an advisor for America First Policies, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization supporting the work of President Donald Trump (R).[2] She previously served as the Trump administration's deputy chief of staff from January to March 2017. Walsh, a Republican operative who specializes in campaign finance and fundraising, formerly worked as the chief of staff for the RNC, where she began as the deputy finance director in 2013.
Early career
Early career
Walsh, a St. Louis native, credits her early interest in politics to her mother, who she said worked on a county executive race in Missouri when Walsh was a child. She told Glamour, "And seeing my mom, a woman, taking interest in the political process was really great for me."[3] Her early political involvement came in high school when she worked as an intern for John Ashcroft's (R-Mo.) successful re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2000. In college at George Washington University, she volunteered for Matt Blunt's (R) successful 2004 Missouri gubernatorial campaign.[4]
2008 presidential election
During the 2008 election cycle, Walsh worked as an assistant to the finance director for former Sen. Fred Thompson's (R-Tenn.) presidential campaign. After Thompson dropped out of the race, she joined the campaign of John McCain as a regional finance director.[4] For McCain's campaign, Walsh was based in the Midwest.[5]
National Republican Senatorial Committee
During the 2010 and 2012 election cycles, Walsh was the deputy finance director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).[4]
Republican National Committee, 2013-2016
Walsh joined the Republican National Committee (RNC) in January 2013 as the deputy finance director and was promoted to finance director in June 2013.[6] During her time as finance director during the 2014 election cycle, Walsh helped the RNC raise over $200 million for Republican candidates and campaigns.[7] She was named chief of staff to then-Chairman Reince Priebus in January 2015.[8]
During the 2016 election cycle, Walsh focused on using the RNC's data collection from the previous four years. She told CNN that the RNC intended to look to polls less often in favor of "predictive modeling," which tracks voters' likelihood of voting for Republican candidates. In November 2016, she said, "The beauty of predictive modeling is you're watching an electorate voter-by-voter over a long period of time. ... You're watching their movement, you're watching what they care about, you're watching what they respond to to [sic] and there are a lot of upsides to this." She went on to say that the RNC was also focusing on get out the vote efforts for Donald Trump's presidential campaign.[9]
On July 21, 2017, Politico reported that Walsh would return to the RNC as the group's senior data and digital advisor.[1]
Donald Trump presidential transition team
Walsh was a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team. The transition team was a group of around 100 aides, policy experts, government affairs officials, and former government officials who were tasked with vetting, interviewing, and recommending individuals for top cabinet and staff roles in Trump's administration. She was part of the leadership staff.[10]
Donald Trump presidential administration
From January to March 2017, Walsh served as deputy chief of staff for Trump's presidential administration, responsible for overseeing senior staff, the schedule, and outreach efforts.[11] According to Politico, Walsh was one of the top aides to Reince Priebus, Trump's chief of staff.[12]
America First Policies
On March 30, 2017, the White House announced that Walsh was leaving her position in the administration to advise America First Policies, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization supportive of Trump's political agenda.[2][1]
Foreign policy advertisements
In June 2017, the group began a $400,000 campaign to run an advertisement called "Safe Again." According to Axios, the ad aimed to promote "the President's work in the Middle East and Europe — with a focus on fighting terrorism." Walsh explained the ads to Axios, saying, "This is about collecting information and mobilization. ... We strongly believe that for us to get the President's policy agenda passed we need to harness millions of voices."[13]
Republican National Committee, 2017
In July 2017, Walsh returned to the RNC to work as the organization's senior data and digital advisor.[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Politico, "Priebus ally Walsh returns to RNC," July 21, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Politico, "Senior White House aide Katie Walsh moving to pro-Trump political group," March 30, 2017
- ↑ Glamour, "Professional Opponents, Personal Friends: How Amy Dacey and Katie Walsh Make it Work," July 11, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Hill, "RNC’s Katie Walsh: A behind-the-scenes leader," May 25, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "RNC names Katie Walsh new chief of staff," January 27, 2015
- ↑ Republican National Committee, "Katie Walsh," accessed December 29, 2016
- ↑ The Atlantic, "Katie Walsh: The RNC's Rainmaker," March 27, 2015
- ↑ Republican National Committee, "RNC Chairman Reince Priebus Announces Katie Walsh as Chief of Staff," January 27, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "RNC chief of staff describes the $175 million tool that wins elections (they hope)," November 2, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Trump adds vice chairs to transition team, including several women," November 29, 2016
- ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "St. Louis native Katie Walsh will be deputy chief of staff in Trump White House," January 6, 2017
- ↑ Politico, "Priebus scrambles to bring order out of disorder," February 16, 2017
- ↑ Axios, "Axios Sneak Peek," June 4, 2017
