Presidential election strategists, 2016
From Ballotpedia
Political strategists are often difficult to spot. As Politico notes, the term is popularly "used as a catchall tag for a whole host of people with varied — and often peripheral — backgrounds in electoral politics."[1] The Washington Post playfully defines the term as, "Someone who has at least one political campaign on their LinkedIn page and always picks up the phone when reporters call."[2] But strategists within national political campaigns are key decision makers. They direct a campaign's message across media and "work with the candidate on speeches and answers to questions so the right message will be communicated on the campaign trail and in front of the TV cameras," according to the Houston Chronicle.[3] According to Real Clear Politics, digital strategy teams are increasingly important, as they "are now the engine rooms of presidential campaigns."[4]
The following is a list of all the strategists that Ballotpedia has profiled for the 2016 presidential election. A fuller individual profile—including the staffer's background, previous experience and current campaign work—can be found by clicking on the link in each staffer's name. Clicking the link in the campaign logo on the right will take you to Ballotpedia's comprehensive profile of that candidate's 2016 campaign.
| Republican Campaigns | ||
|---|---|---|
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David Kochel: David Kochel first joined the Bush team in January 2015, moving from Des Moines, Iowa, to Miami.[5] Initially, Kochel was rumored to be the campaign-manager-in-waiting and was expected to step into the role once the campaign officially got underway.[6] In his role as chief strategist, Kochel is tasked with "build[ing] and oversee[ing] a political operation in the early states and beyond."[7] Kochel previously worked on the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney (R), first as a senior Iowa advisor then as treasurer of Romney's PAC and senior advisor on his Iowa caucus campaign.[8] |  |
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Ed Brookover: Ed Brookover joined Ben Carson's 2016 presidential campaign in its exploratory stages.[9] Brookover previously worked as political director for the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the National Republican Congressional Committee. He is chair of political practice at the communications firm Greener and Hook in Alexandria, Va.[10] |  |
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Mike DuHaime: On July 3, 2015, Mike DuHaime was announced as the senior strategist for Chris Christie's presidential campaign.[11] DuHaime had been advising Christie's PAC, Leadership Matters for America, since January 2015.[12] DuHaime is a partner at the public and political strategy firm, Mercury Public Affairs. At Mercury, he served as a consultant for the Republican Governors Association in 2014, advising on the campaigns of Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Gov. Rick Snyder (R-Mich.), Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.), Gov. Bruce Rauner (R-Ill.), Gov Terry Branstad (R-Iowa), Gov. Charlie Baker (R-Mass.), Gov. Paul LePage (R-Maine), Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.), Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.) and Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.).[13] |  |
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Jason Johnson: Jason Johnson came on to Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign team as Cruz's chief strategist. According to the Washington Post, Johnson has been dubbed the "political brain" of Cruz's campaign.[14] In 2004, he founded J2, a political strategy firm, based in Austin. Johnson has previously worked with current Texas Governor and former Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.[15] |  |
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Bob Wickers: On May 7, 2015, Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign announced that Bob Wickers would work as the pollster and media strategist.[16] Wickers' company, The Wickers Group, has a long history with Huckabee. They ran the media for his 2008 presidential campaign, and, according to The Dallas Morning News, Huckabee has consistently endorsed Wickers' clients.[17] Wickers was also a senior advisor and media consultant for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.[18] |  |
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Curt Anderson: Bobby Jindal named Curt Anderson his chief strategist on June 24, 2015.[19] Anderson is the founder of OnMessage, a political consulting firm; he previously worked at the White House under Ronald Reagan and served as political director for the Republican National Committee[20] |  |
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Vincent Harris: In May 2015, Vincent Harris left Ted Cruz's campaign team to join Rand Paul's presidential campaign as a digital strategist. Of Paul, Harris said: "Rand Paul is a forward looking thought leader who is going to put a large emphasis on technology, probably a larger emphasis than any other candidate considering who he is, who his supporters are and his issue stands."[21] Previously, Harris strategized digital campaigns for many candidates, including Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R), former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R).[22] |  |
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Rob Johnson: Rob Johnson was a strategist for Rick Perry until the suspension of the campaign on September 11, 2015. Johnson began working with Rick Perry at RickPAC, Perry's leadership PAC.[23] Johnson became senior strategist for the campaign itself after Perry announced his candidacy on June 4, 2015.[24] Previously, Johnson was campaign manager for former Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R) and for Newt Gingrich's (R) 2012 presidential campaign. Johnson also worked as the campaign manager for Rick Perry in his 2010 gubernatorial campaign and as a senior strategist for Perry's 2012 presidential campaign.[25] |  |
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Todd Harris: Todd Harris joined Marco Rubio's presidential campaign as a strategist when Rubio announced his candidacy on April 13, 2015.[26] Harris is a political and media consultant with Something Else Strategies, where he has produced media and strategized on campaigns for Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.).[27] |  |
| Democratic Campaigns | ||
|---|---|---|
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Joel Benenson: Joel Benenson was announced as chief strategist and pollster for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign in January 2015.[28] Previously, Benenson worked as a pollster for former President Bill Clinton's 1996 presidential campaign and filled the same role for both of President Barack Obama's presidential campaigns.[29] |  |
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Bill Hyers: Bill Hyers officially joined Martin O'Malley's leadership PAC, O'Say Can You See PAC, in December 2014.[30] Previously, Hyers worked on both presidential campaigns for Barack Obama (D) and Bill de Blasio's (D) 2013 New York City mayoral campaign.[31] Hyers remained an advisor to O'Malley after O'Malley announced his campaign on May 30, 2015.[32] |  |
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Revolution Messaging: Revolution Messaging is a progressive political digital strategy firm located in Washington, D.C. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign hired the firm to coordinate and to run his digital ads and online fundraising on May 6, 2015.[33] The firm has a long list of clients including AARP, ACLU, President Barack Obama's Organizing for America (now known as Organizing for Action), NAACP, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, among others.[34] |  |
References
- ↑ Politico, "Meet the make-believe strategists of TV," June 24, 2008
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The Fix guide to understanding all the great political cliches," September 22, 2014
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Qualifications for Political Strategists," accessed July 21, 2015
- ↑ Real Clear Politics, "Digital Strategies Fuel 2016 Campaign Launch Decisions," March 23, 2015
- ↑ New York Times, "David Kochel, Romney’s Iowa Strategist, Jumps to Bush," January 29, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "In surprise shakeup, Jeb Bush taps Danny Diaz as campaign manager," June 8, 2015
- ↑ Des Moines Register, "Iowa's David Kochel goes all in for Jeb Bush," January 29, 2015
- ↑ DCI Group, "Homepage," accessed June 22, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Ben Carson’s general election strategy," March 3, 2015
- ↑ Greener and Hook, "Leadership," accessed May 20, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "Exclusive: Chris Christie hires presidential campaign manager and appoints senior staff," July 3, 2015
- ↑ Time, "Chris Christie Launches PAC in Preparation for 2016 Presidential Run," January 26, 2015
- ↑ Mercury, "Michael DuHaime," accessed June 29, 2014
- ↑ Washington Post, "Meet the people who will help Ted Cruz try to get to the White House," March 24, 2015
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Jason Johnson," accessed May 19, 2015
- ↑ P2016, "News Release: Gov. Huckabee announces national campaign team," May 7, 2015
- ↑ Dallas Morning News, "Huckabee, who backed Dewhurst last year, endorses Patrick," July 23, 2013
- ↑ Wickers Group, "The Team," accessed May 29, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "The power players behind Bobby Jindal’s campaign," June 24, 2015
- ↑ OnMessage, Inc., "Curt Anderson," accessed June 3, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Rand Paul hires digital guru away from Ted Cruz," accessed May 6, 2015
- ↑ Bloomberg, "The Man Who Invented the Republican Internet," accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Washington Examiner, "Rick Perry expands team, hires conservative liaison," March 16, 2015
- ↑ P2016, "Perry for President, Inc.," accessed June 15, 2015
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Tribpedia: Rob Johnson," accessed June 15, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "He's in: Marco Rubio's presidential challenge," April 13, 2015
- ↑ Something Else Strategies, "Meet Todd Harris," accessed June 1, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Hillary Clinton recruits chief strategist, media adviser for 2016 effort," January 13, 2015
- ↑ New York Times, "Connecting the Dots Behind the 2016 Presidential Candidates," June 8, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "O’Malley hires former Bill de Blasio campaign manager as senior adviser," December 3, 2014
- ↑ Hilltop Public Solutions, "Bill Hyers," accessed June 18, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "The power players behind Martin O'Malley's campaign," May 30, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "The power players behind Bernie Sanders' campaign," May 26, 2015
- ↑ Revolution Messaging, "Clients," accessed June 17, 2015
