Ken McKay

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Ken McKay
Ken McKay.JPG
Basic facts
Organization:PhRMA
Role:Vice President of State Government Affairs
Location:Rhode Island
Expertise:Political advisor
Affiliation:Republican
Education:•High Point University (B.S. biology, 1991)
•Roger Williams University School of Law (J.D.)


Ken McKay is a Republican political consultant. As of October 2017, he was the vice president for state government affairs at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a trade group representing the pharmaceutical industry.[1] McKay is also the co-founder, with Gail Gitcho, of McKay-Gitcho Strategies. He was an advisor to the pro-Donald Trump super PAC Rebuilding America Now, having joined the group after serving briefly as an advisor to Trump's campaign.

  • Ken McKay was hired by convention manager Paul Manafort as a senior advisor to Trump's campaign in April 2016 but left the campaign in early June 2016 to join the pro-Trump super PAC Rebuilding America Now.[2][3]
  • He formerly worked as campaign manager for Chris Christie's 2016 presidential campaign. He also worked on campaigns for Gov. Donald Carcieri (R-R.I.), Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).
  • He is the co-founder, with former RNC colleague Gail Gitcho, of his own consulting firm, McKay-Gitcho Strategies.

    • Career

    Donald Carcieri advisor

    In 2002, McKay, a Rhode Island native, served as the campaign manager for Donald Carcieri's successful Rhode Island gubernatorial campaign. After Carcieri's victory, McKay became Carcieri's chief of staff.[4][5][6][7] In 1996, McKay graduated from Roger Williams School of Law with a J.D. He rejoined Carcieri for the 2006 election cycle as Carcieri's campaign manager.[8][5][4][6][7]

    Republican National Committee

    In 2009, McKay was appointed chief of staff to the Republican National Committee (RNC) under Chairman Michael Steele. In April 2010, McKay resigned under pressure from the RNC after an incident which took place that March. The RNC entertained young donors at a Hollywood bondage strip club, spending nearly $2000. According to the Providence Phoenix, there was no evidence that McKay had anything to do with the event; the paper reported that he was in Rhode Island at the time.[9][4][8][7] In an article from March 2010, Politico argued that McKay's resignation was more likely a sign of a "power struggle within the committee," noting that OnMessage's Curt Anderson—who brought McKay on board at the RNC— severed his firm's ties with the RNC after McKay left. At the time of McKay's resignation, Politico stated, “Ken McKay’s departure is a huge loss for the Republican Party."[10]

    Campaign consulting and Republican Governors Association

    In 2010, he served as Florida Governor Rick Scott's (R) chief strategist.[4][6][7] This was followed up by a year as chairman of the Republican Party of Rhode Island.[11][6] In 2011, he began work as a senior advisor to Sen. Ron Johnson's (R-Wis.) Senate campaign.[11][7][12][6]

    In 2013, McKay became the political director for the Republican Governors Association (RGA), spearheading 38 gubernatorial campaigns for the 2014 election cycle.[4][7] McKay was responsible for $100 million in political spending on gubernatorial campaigns across the country. Under McKay's tenure the GOP picked up two extra seats, taking 31 gubernatorial seats in 2014.[6] In December 2014, after stepping down from the RGA, McKay joined his former RNC colleague, Gail Gitcho —a senior advisor for Bobby Jindal's 2016 presidential campaign—to form a political strategy firm, McKay-Gitcho Strategies.[6]

    Presidential election, 2016

    McKay began the 2016 election cycle as the campaign manager for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). In April 2016, after Christie had dropped out of the race, McKay signed on as an advisor to Donald Trump's presidential campaign. He left in early June to advise the pro-Trump super PAC Rebuilding America Now. The super PAC told NBC News that McKay was a volunteer for Trump's campaign and that his decision to join the super PAC did not violate federal laws on coordination.

    Chris Christie

    See also: Chris Christie presidential campaign, 2016

    On June 30, 2015, Chris Christie announced his 2016 presidential campaign.[13][14] On July 3, 2015, The Washington Post reported that Ken McKay would act as Christie's campaign manager and that he would be responsible for "overseeing the campaign's nuts-and-bolts political operations from the national headquarters in Morristown, N.J."[15] According to the Daily Caller, McKay was involved in the campaign strategy of "wearing down his opponents by tirelessly working the long game and then zeroing in on a narrowing field of opponents on the debate stage." Of Christie's attacks on Marco Rubio in January 2016, McKay told the Daily Caller, "I think what Marco’s afraid of is when that stage gets smaller — [when] there’s three or four people on that stage — he does poorly, especially against someone like Christie."[16]

    Christie suspended his presidential run on February 10, 2016.[17]

    Donald Trump

    See also: Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

    Ken McKay was hired as a senior advisor to Donald Trump's presidential campaign on April 25, 2016.[3] According to Bloomberg, McKay was hired to focus on delegate strategy ahead of the Republican National Convention in July 2016. Curt Anderson, former strategist for Bobby Jindal (R), told Bloomberg, "This is a serious strategist and tactician. ... This is not a guy who wastes his time going on cable TV and running his mouth. Trump hiring Ken McKay is a bad thing for the Ted Cruz campaign, I can assure you of that."[18]

    Rebuilding America Now

    In June 2016, McKay left the Trump campaign to advise the pro-Trump super PAC Rebuilding America Now. According to NBC News, the super PAC began paying McKay immediately despite McKay's recent work with the campaign. By FEC regulations, there is a 120-day "cooling off period" for those who move between super PACs and electoral campaigns.[2] The super PAC claimed this law did not apply because McKay was a volunteer and was never paid by the Trump campaign.

    PhRMA

    In July 2017, McKay began working as vice president for state government affairs at PhRMA, a trade organization representing pharmaceutical manufacturers in the United States.[1]

    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 American Pharmaceutical Review, "PhRMA Announces Two New VPs," July 11, 2017
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 NBC News, "Pro-Trump Super PAC Hire Tests Federal Election Rules," August 16, 2016
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Hill, "Report: Trump adding another veteran political operative," April 25, 2016
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Republican Governors Association, "RGA Names Ken McKay Political Director," accessed July 3, 2015
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Politico, "Steele names top RNC exec," March 12, 2009
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Politico, "RGA’s McKay and Gitcho form consulting firm," December 22, 2014
    7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Politico, "Exclusive: Ken McKay to Republican Governors Association as political director," January 9, 2013
    8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Roger Williams University, "Ken McKay '06 Plans GOP Revival," June 22, 2011
    9. ↑ Washington Post, "RNC Chief of Staff Ken McKay resigns," April 6, 2010
    10. ↑ Politico, "Shakeup: RNC chief of staff resigns," March 7, 2010
    11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 WPRI News, "Ken McKay steps down as Rhode Island Republicans’ leader," November 27, 2011
    12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named names
    13. ↑ National Journal, "Chris Christie Is Running For President. But Is He Too Late?" June 30, 2015
    14. ↑ Politico, "Chris Christie kicks off presidential campaign," June 30, 2015
    15. ↑ Washington Post, "Exclusive: Chris Christie hires presidential campaign manager and appoints senior staff," July 3, 2015
    16. ↑ Daily Caller, "Jeb Teams Up With Christie To Go After Rubio In New Hampshire," February 6, 2016
    17. ↑ CNN, "Chris Christie suspends campaign, source says," February 10, 2016
    18. ↑ Bloomberg, "Trump to Hire Another Veteran Operative to Fight for Delegates," April 25, 2016
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