In
2006 the closely split Iowa legislature (Republicans had a 51 to 49 majority
in the House and the Senate was tied at 25 to 25), several close congressional
races, and the gubernatorial campaign provided a convenient excuse for
much activity by '08 presidential prospects. On the Republican side,
Sen. John McCain, Gov. Mitt Romney and Gov. George Pataki were most active
in building up organizations in Iowa, while Sen. Bill Frist and Gov. Mike
Huckabee also had people on the ground. (Longshot John Cox did significant
organizing as well). On the Democratic side, there was less activity.
Sen. Evan Bayh's All America trained and paid for about two dozen staff
to work on campaigns around the state.
THE REPUBLICANS
Frist
| VOLPAC Iowa Chairman |
Brian Kennedy |
(announced July 13, 2006)
Attorney affiliated with the Davenport law firm of Gallagher, Millage &
Gallagher, P.L.C.; resident of Bettendorf. Most recently competed
in the June 2006 primary to be the Republican nominee in Iowa's First Congressional
District (announced April 2005). In 2003, founded Campaign
of One, a Republican committee dedicated to creating a new generation of
political entrepreneurs in Eastern Iowa. A co-founder of Progress
for America, a national grassroots issue advocacy organization working
to support President Bush's legislative agenda. National political
director on Lamar Alexander's 2000 presidential campaign, then joined the
McCain campaign as national political consultant. Has served as Chairman
of the Republican Party of Iowa, a member of the Republican National Committee,
a Co-Chairman of the Republican National Convention Platform Committee,
and Executive Director of the Republican Governors Association as well
as a political advisor or campaign manager to former Iowa Governor Terry
Branstad and several other Republican candidates. Graduated from
Iowa State University and Drake University Law School. Grew up in
Eastern Iowa.
| VOLPAC Iowa Field Director |
Marcus Branstad |
(first reported late June 2006)
Graduated from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake in May 2006.
Youngest child of former Gov. Terry and Chris Branstad.
Huckabee
| Coordinator
of Hope for America PAC |
Eric Woolson |
(first reported June 13, 2006;
June 14 press release) President and CEO of The Concept Works, a public,
media and government relations and crisis management firm with offices
in West Des Moines and Bettendorf that he founded in 2002. Communications
director on then Gov. George W. Bush's Iowa caucus campaign, 1999-2000.
Communications director for Gov. Terry Branstad during his final term.
Previously worked for 20 years as a member of the Iowa press corps.
He is also author of Grassley: Senator from Iowa (Mid-Prairie Books,
Nov. 1995).
McCain
| Iowa Chairman |
David Roederer |
(announced Sept. 22, 2006)
Chair of the Lamberti for Congress Committee and the Vaudt for State Auditor
Committee. Chaired the Iowa Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign. Managing
partner of StrataVizion, Inc. in Des Moines. Served as the Economic
Development Coordinator for Iowa State University. Chief of staff
for Gov. Terry Branstad, 1991-95; campaign manager for Gov. Branstad, 1990-91.
Director of the Iowa Department of Commerce, 1988-90. B.A. from the
University of Northern Iowa, 1973. [Also, in the private sector Roederer
worked for two and a half years in Saudi Arabia designing a national law
enforcement agency for a Lockheed Martin company].
| Consultant/"National
Advisor" |
Chuck Larson |
(traveled with McCain during
his April 13, 2006 Iowa trip) State Senator (District 19-Cedar Rapids)
since 2002, retiring in Dec. 2006; previously served as a State Representative,
1992-2001. Founder of Families
United for Our Troops and Their Mission, a 501(c)(4). Deployed
to Iraq as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve in Sept. 2003 and served there
for a year. Chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa starting Jan.
27, 2001. General counsel for The ESCO Group, Cedar Rapids, starting
in 1999. Assistant Jones County Attorney, 1997-99. University
of Iowa, JD, 1996; University of Iowa, BA in Economics, 1992.
| [directs day
to day ops on the ground] |
Matthew J. Gronewald |
(started June 2006) Most
recently managed State Rep. Bill Dix's congressional campaign in Iowa's
1st CD; Dix finished second to Mike Whalen in the June 6, 2006 primary.
Previously he worked for the State Party's Legislative Majority Fund, and
as Rep. Dix's legislative assistant while he was the Statehouse Appropriations
Chairman. From Evansdale, Iowa.
Iowa Legislative Advisory Team
On Oct. 5, 2006, Straight
Talk America announced that thirteen state legislators had joined together
to form the Iowa Legislative Advisory Team for the PAC.
Sen. Larry McKibben, Sen. John Putney,
Sen. Pat Ward, Sen. Mark Zieman; Rep. Rich Anderson, Rep. Dave
Heaton, Rep. Steve Lukan, Rep. Mike May, Rep. Rod Roberts, Rep.
Bill Schickel, Rep. Doug Struyk, Rep. David Tjepkes, and Rep. Walt Tomenga.
Note: On Oct. 6, 2005 the
Des
Moines Register's Tom Beaumont reported that Rep. Dave Heaton of Mount
Pleasant had not endorsed McCain. Beaumont wrote that Heaton said
he "would remain neutral indefinitely and was 'very disappointed' by the
error."
Iowa Veterans Advisory Committee
(announced Oct. 30, 2006)
| Chairman |
Major General Evan “Curly” Hultman
AUS (Ret.) |
From Waterloo. Iowa State
Veterans chairman for the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign and a member of the
campaign's national veteran's steering committee. Served two terms
as Iowa Attorney General and as executive director of the Reserve Officers
Association of the United States. Started military career in the
Army as an infantry private in 1943 and rose through the active and reserve
ranks to serve as commanding general of three general officer commands
including the 88th U.S. Army Reserve.
| Co-Chairman |
Richard Goebel |
From Dubuque. Served 33
years in the Army Reserve and retired as a Sergeant Major. Veteran
of the first Gulf War and Somalia. Currently serves as the VFW state
commander.
| Senior Advisor
to Straight Talk America |
Terry Nelson |
(reported by AP's Ron Fournier
on March 18, 2006) Founder and managing partner of Crosslink Strategy
Group; also a consultant and member of Akerman Senterfitt's Policy practice
group. Political director for Bush-Cheney '04, 2003-04 (announced
May 30, 2003). Deputy chief of staff and director of political operations
at the RNC from January 2002 until joining the Bush campaign. In
February 2001 Nelson and two partners formed Dawson, McCarthy, Nelson Media,
a Washington, DC consulting firm. Political director for the NRCC
during the 2000 cycle, and earlier served as the NRCC's national field
director, 1997-99. Majority staff director of the Iowa Senate, 1997.
NRCC field representative, 1995-96. Campaign manager for Rep. Jim
Nussle, 1992-95. Graduate of the University of Iowa with a B.S. in
Political Science, 1994. From Marshalltown, Iowa.
Pataki
Iowa Office of 21st Century
Freedom State PAC: Aurora Business Park, Building 13, Urbandale (Gov.
Pataki opened on Sept. 29, 2006)
| Chairman |
State Senator Stew Iverson |
(announced June 14, 2006; part
of initial leadership team) Represents Senate District 5, which includes
the counties of Story, Hamilton, Wright and part of Webster. Iverson
was elected Senate Majority Leader in 1996 and served through April 2006;
he announced in June 2006 that he will not be seeking re-election.
Iverson is a farmer and resides in Clarion (Wright County). Elected
to the Iowa Senate in 1994; elected to the Iowa House of Representatives
in 1989. Served fifteen years on the Dows Community School Board.
Served in the United States Marine Corps as budget chief of the First Marine
Division. B.A. in accounting from Buena Vista College; attended Ellsworth
Junior College.
| Co-Chair |
Former State Rep. Steve Sukup |
(announced Sept. 26, 2006)
Co-owner of Sukup Manufacturing Co., a family-owned agricultural business
in Sheffield started by Eugene Sukup in 1963. Candidate for the 2002
Republican gubernatorial nomination; gained 64,490 votes, finishing second
to Doug Gross in the June 2002 primary. Served in the Iowa House
starting in 1994 and finishing as speaker pro tem. From Daugherty
in North Central Iowa.
| Executive Director |
Craig Schoenfeld |
(announced Sept. 26, 2006)
Attorney and lobbyist at Wasker Dorr Wimmer & Marcouiller, P.C. in
West Des Moines. Managed Rep. Greg Ganske's 2002 campaign for Senate
through late 2001. Communications director for the Iowa Republican
Party. Political director of Iowa Victory 2000. Political director
of Iowa Victory 2000. Caucus planning director on Bush's 2000 Iowa
caucus campaign (starting Sept. 1999 worked in tandem with the campaign's
field operations, preparing county and precinct leaders and supporters
for the intricacies of the Iowa caucus process). Director of communications
for the Iowa House Republican Caucus 1999-2000. Analyst/legal counsel
to the House Republican Caucus from 1994-98. M.A. and J.D. from Drake
University, 1994. B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point,
1991.
| Operations Director |
Noreen F. Bush |
(announced Sept. 26, 2006)
Experience in government and with Iowa Victory '04. J.D. from Drake
University Law School, 2006. B.A. from Mount Mercy College, 2003.
| Senior Political Advisor |
Ed Failor, Jr. |
(announced June 14, 2006; part
of initial leadership team) Executive Vice President of Iowans for
Tax Relief. During the 2004 presidential campaign Failor served as
executive director of Iowa Victory 2004, helping Bush to carry the battleground
state.
(announced June 14, 2006 as
Executive Director; now Executive Director of the national PAC's finance
committee) Vice President for Administration of Musco Lighting Corp.
of Oskaloosa; finance roles on a number of Iowa campaigns. Appointed
chair of the Republican Party of Iowa's Victory Fund in June 2005.
Finance chair for the Republican Party of Iowa, 2002-05. Finance
chair for Doug Gross' gubernatorial campaign in 2002.
(announced June 14, 2006; part
of intial leadership team) Chairman of the Benton County Republican
Party and a member of the State Central Committee of the Iowa Republican
Party. Managed Gary Bauer's Iowa caucus campaign in 1999-2000 and
Pat Buchanan's Iowa caucus campaign in 1995-96. He resides in Norway
(Benton County) and works as a computer consultant.
(announced June 14, 2006; part
of initial leadership team) Managed Mark Leonard's campaign for Secretary
of Agriculture in the June 2006 Republican primary. Regional chair
for Bush-Cheney '04. Member of the Polk County Republican Central
Committee and Executive Committee. Campaign co-chair for the Iowa
Federation of Republican Women.
Grassroots Advisory Team
On September 26, 2006 Pataki
announced
a Grassroots Advisory Team comprising 14 county chairs "named to help the
Governor's get out the vote effort for Republicans."
Note: Gov. Pataki announced
the initial Iowa leadership team for his 21st Century Freedom PAC
on June 14, 2006, in advance of the Iowa Republican state convention:
State Sen. Stew Iverson (Chairman), Ed Failor, Jr. (Senior Political Advisor),
Diane Crookham-Johnson (Executive Director), Loras Schulte and JoEllen
Hill. As reported by the Hotline, Schulte subsequently sent out an
e-mail stating that his "involvement in the PAC is not an endorsement of
the Governor for President but it does reflect how seriously I take the
job of helping to fund our 2006 candidates for the State House..."
Also note: Also note: Erik
Helland of Des Moines has been doing political consulting for the PAC;
the FEC reports show first payment on Oct. 12, 2005, payments totaling
$6,000 through the end of the year and another $7,500 by mid-2006. S.E.I.
Consulting LLC of Ankeny also received $5,000.
Romney
(announced May 23, 2006)
Attorney at Brown, Winick, Graves, et al.. The 2002 Republican gubernatorial
nominee. Lawyer and lobbyist. Chief of staff to Gov. Terry
Branstad, 1984-89.
Legislative liaison to Gov. Robert Ray, 1981-83. Director of the
Fuels Division for the Iowa Energy Policy Council. Chief legislative
assistant to
Congressman Tom Tauke; worked
on Tom Tauke's successful 1978 campaign for Congress. Law degree
from Drake University, 1985. Bachelor's degree from Iowa
Wesleyan College in 1977.
Born in Earling, Iowa (Shelby County).
| Treasurer/Unpaid Advisor
to the Iowa Commonwealth PAC |
Dave Kochel |
Principal at JDK Marketing &
Public Affairs in Des Moines. Executive Vice President at DCI Group.
Managed Lamar Alexander's 1999-2000 Iowa caucus campaign. Executive
director of the Michigan Republican Party in the latter part of 1996.
Executive director of the Iowa Republican Party, 1995-96. Graduate
of Iowa State University in Ames with a degree in political science, 1992.
June 17, Radio Iowa's
O. Kay Henderson reported that Gross announced Romney has hired three staff
people to work in Iowa on GOP campaigns.
Tim Moran, Chad Airhart, Derek Flowers
The Commonwealth PAC Iowa Advisory Committee.
On June 17, 2006 Romney
announced
creation of this group "composed of fifty distinguished Iowa leaders from
all across the state."
| Advisor |
House Speaker Christopher Rants |
(announced Sept. 27, 2006)
Represents District 54-Sioux City. First elected to the Iowa Legislature
in 1992; elected Speaker Nov. 12, 2002. B.A. from Morningside College,
1989.
also
| Consulting for The Commonwealth
PAC; Political Director at the RGA |
Gentry Collins |
Deputy chairman of the Republican
Party of Iowa (effectively acting chairman) in the 2004 cycle following
the deployment of then Chairman Chuck Larson to
Iraq in Sept. 2003; earlier
served as the party's executive director. Campaign manager for Doug
Gross's 2002 gubernatorial race from Jan. 2002. Administrative assistant
to then Majority Leader Christopher Rants. Graduate of Iowa State
University with a degree in political science, 1998.
Key Grassroots Supporter
- Jeff Fuller.
Fuller of North Liberty
runs the Iowans for Romney
blog (first posting on May 5, 2006). Vitreoretinal Surgical Fellowship
at University of Iowa. Residency in Ophthalmology at Medical College
of Georgia. Medical School at UAB in Birmingham. College at Brigham
Young University. Born and raised in Los Angeles area (Glendora High
School).
The Commonwealth PAC (Iowa)
reported > contributions of
$90,800.00 and expenditures of $76,323.36 in 2004 and contributions of
$143,000.00 and expenditures of $62,622.95 in 2005.
Brownback
| Unpaid Advisor (Law School
Classmate) |
Chuck Hurley |
President of the Iowa
Family Policy Center. Former state representative (represented
Lafayette).
Cox
| Iowa Coordinators |
Central - Patrick Anderson
Eastern - Steve Huff
Western - Keith Hunter |
THE DEMOCRATS
Bayh
| Midwest Political
Director for All America PAC |
Chris Hayler |
Hayler served as Southeast regional
field director on Kerry's Iowa caucus campaign starting March 1, 2003.
Directed the Iowa Coordinated Campaign in the 1st CD in 2002. Regional
organizer for the Alliance for Justice, organizing youth for gun control.
Field organizer for Gore in Washington State. M.A. in political management
and B.A. in political science from George Washington University.
On August 15 All America
PAC announced
deployment of 50 graduates of its campaign-training program to work as
paid staffers on campaigns in Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and
South Carolina. Fully half of the staffers were sent to Iowa.
Edwards
Key Supporter - Roxanne
Conlin.
Co-chair of Edwards' 2003-04
Iowa caucus campaign. Conlin has practiced law at her own firm in
Des Moines, Roxanne Conlin & Associates, P.C., since 1991; "she exclusively
represents people who have been harmed by others, whether by discrimination,
products, doctors or vehicles." From 1983-1990 she was a principal
at Galligan and Conlin, P.C. Among her many accomplishments, Conlin
was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1982, and she served as first
woman president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (1992-93).
In 1995 she was elected to Inner Circle of Advocates, whose membership
is limited to 100. Conlin served as United States Attorney for the
Southern District of Iowa from 1977-81. She obtained her J.D. from Drake
University Law School in 1966 at age 21.
Communications Director
for One America Committee (in DC) - Kim Rubey.
Press secretary on Edwards'
Iowa caucus campaign starting mid-March 2003. Prior to starting as
Edwards' Iowa press secretary, Rubey was press secretary for the DCCC.
In 2000, she served as Midwest communications director for the Gore campaign.
A native of Oklahoma, Rubey graduated from Georgetown University with a
degree in American Government.
Feingold
Friend/Volunteer - Paul
Tewes. (visited Iowa and made some recommendations in advance
of Sen. Feingold's first trip there on April 28-29, 2006)
Campaign manager of Americans
United to Protect Social Security in 2005; formed a consulting firm with
Steve Hildebrand in early 2005. Political director of the DSCC in
the 2004 cycle. Field director on Vice President Al Gore's 2000 Iowa
caucus campaign starting in June 1999. Executive director of the
Wisconsin Democratic Party, 1998. Managed Sandy Pappas’ mayoral campaign
in St. Paul in 1997. Managed U.S. Rep. David Minge's re-election
campaign in 1996. Western MN field coordinator for Ann Wynia's U.S.
Senate campaign in 1994. Graduate of Carleton College with a degree
in Political Science, 1993. Native of Mt. Lake, MN.
Grassroots Supporter -
Patrick Stansberry.
Stansberry, who lives in
central Iowa, runs the Iowa
for Feingold blog (launched Jan. 16, 2006).
"I have lived in central
Iowa my entire life. I headed off to college at the University of
Iowa thinking I knew what I wanted to do with my life. After graduating
and working for a year, I decided to go back to school to get my elementary
education degree. I recently graduated [Dec. 2005] and will be teaching
2nd grade starting in August [Aug. 2006]."
Warner
Starting August 2006, Forward
Together PAC is paying the salary of Courtney Dozier, who will work
for the Iowa Democratic Party. (Most recently deputy director
of the House Democratic Caucus in Virginia. Deputy field director
for America Coming Together West Virginia in 2004. Graduate of George
Mason University.)
Grassroots Supporter -
Matthew Moore.
Draft
Mark Warner Iowa Coordinator.
Grassroots Supporter -
John Zimmerman (Yellowdogjz).
