Patrick Davis (Colorado)

This article is outside of Ballotpedia's coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates. If you would like to help our coverage scope grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.

Patrick Davis
Basic facts
Location:	Colorado Springs, Colo.
Affiliation:	Republican
Website:	Official website
Prior Experience •Donald Trump 2016 presidential •George H.W. Bush 1992 presidential •Republican Party of South Dakota •National Republican Senatorial Committee •Vote 2 Reduce Debt PAC •Coloradans for Better Schools •Go America PAC

Patrick Davis, a veteran Republican operative, was the Colorado state director for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

Davis joined the Trump campaign in April 2016 when the Republican Party of Colorado was selecting its delegates for the Republican National Convention.

He formerly directed the Republican Party of South Dakota and worked as the political director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Davis is the owner of a national consulting firm, Patrick Davis Consulting, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Career

Early career

Davis began his career in politics as the assistant to the deputy director of White House political affairs during former President George H.W. Bush's (R) term in office. During Bush's re-election campaign in 1992, Davis served as a field desk coordinator for 11 states in the Northwest. From 1995 to 1999 he was the executive director of the Republican Party of South Dakota.

National Republican Senatorial Committee

During the 2004 election cycle, Davis was the national political director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). As political director, Davis spoke with The Washington Post about the NRSC's efforts in Oklahoma. Davis explained that committee used the popularity of President George W. Bush (R) to boost its efforts. He said, "We have made it clear from the get-go that in places like Oklahoma -- where the president won by 20 points in 2000 -- that we would take advantage of that lead. The voters don't want to be responsible for the Democrats taking over the Senate."

Private consulting

Davis began Patrick Davis Consulting, a private consulting firm in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2005. During the 2008 presidential election, Davis and his firm helped to run an independent organization called "Trust Huckabee." The group supported Mike Huckabee's (R) presidential campaign by making phone calls that featured "an automated push-poll attacking Huckabee's GOP opponents and praising the former Arkansas governor," according to Politico. Davis referred to the phone calls as "personalized educational artificial intelligence calls" and told Politico, "It helps our candidate by driving compatriots that are favorable to Mike Huckabee to the caucuses."

Outside organizations

Davis has also been involved with other outside organizations. During the 2014 election cycle, he served as the national political strategist for the super PAC Vote 2 Reduce Debt, a group focused on the national debt as a voting issue in 11 U.S. Senate races. In June 2014, Davis said, "As we have been in the field leading into Tuesday primary elections, we’ve been able to identify that the federal debt is an eighty-percent issue, meaning that 80% of conservatives believe that the debt and economic issues are their top priority today." According to ProPublica, leaders of the super PAC questioned Davis' tactics. The site reported, "Davis pushed for much of the group’s nearly $3 million to go to organizations run by him or his close associates. He secured payments of about $410,000 from Vote2ReduceDebt to a PAC he founded and helped direct contracts and cash to a company run by a friend."

Also in 2014, he was a consultant and spokesperson for the campaign committee Coloradans for Better Schools, an organization that supported Colorado Amendment 68. The amendment, which was defeated, would have established a kindergarten through twelfth grade education fund to provide additional revenue to address local educational needs. The fund would have been financed through additional revenues generated by the expansion of limited gaming at horse racetracks in the counties of Arapahoe, Mesa and Pueblo. Davis was also the director of Go America PAC, a super PAC that supported the 2016 U.S. Senate primary campaign of Robert Blaha (R).

Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

See also: Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

Davis initially joined the Trump campaign in April 2016 as Colorado Republicans were selecting their delegates for the Republican National Convention. According to NBC News, Davis was appointed shortly after the campaign's initial Colorado aide, James Baker, was let go. During the campaign's efforts to secure delegates, Trump campaign strategist Alan Cobb told NBC, "If we get a delegate number higher than zero it will be a success. It's just not a good state for us." After working in Colorado during the primary campaigns, Davis volunteered fro the campaign in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, according to The Denver Post.

Colorado did not hold a Republican primary election in 2016. When Davis was named the state director for Colorado, he acknowledged that, because there was no primary, the campaign was unclear as to what level of support Trump had throughout the state. He told Politico, "This is uncharted territory. We have an opportunity to write the chapter for Colorado."

Colorado organization

In an interview on July 7, 2016, Davis told conservative radio host Steve Curtis, "The Donald Trump campaign has grafted itself into an already robust state Republican party operation. ... We're running this campaign like Donald Trump runs his businesses. We're wasting no money. We're being efficient. We are hiring only what we need. And we are working awful hard to get it done. But there will not be a lot of staff in our operation."

Comments on Trump's polling

In August 2016, Davis said that, despite Trump trailing in the polls, he remained confident that Colorado would vote for the Republican nominee in November. Davis said, "The numbers we're seeing today will not be the numbers we're having to compete with in October and early November. ... We don't think Hillary Clinton can win Colorado. Her message of another eight years, another four years of Barack Obama is a killer. Colorado will go for Trump big in November."

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Patrick Davis' Colorado. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Patrick Davis (Colorado) - Google News

See also

• Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

External links

• Patrick Davis Consulting