General’s Troops
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning (R) is set to announce today that he is running for Senate next year, and shepherding his effort out of the gate are campaign manager Jordan McGrain and general consultant Bob Wickers. [IMGCAP(1)]
In the previous cycle McGrain was the Nebraska director for the Davenport, Iowa-based consulting firm Victory Enterprises. Wickers has advised Bruning on his previous races for attorney general and is a partner in San Francisco-based Dresner, Wickers & Associates.
On the fundraising front, Bruning has brought in Jen Fulcher and Rebecca Weber to serve as finance director and deputy finance director, respectively. Fulcher is based in Omaha and has raised money in the past for Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.); Weber was the finance director for now-Rep. Adrian Smith’s (R-Neb.) campaign in the previous cycle.
Jousting for Jenkins. Kansas Treasurer Lynn Jenkins (R), running in the 2nd district Republican primary, has hired Paul Curcio to serve as her media consultant and Dave Sackett to handle polling.
Curcio is a partner in the Washington, D.C.-based Republican media consulting firm Stevens Reed Curcio & Potholm. Sackett is a founding partner in the all-star GOP polling firm The Tarrance Group, also based in D.C.
Also on the Jenkins team is campaign manager Pat Leopold, who in the previous cycle worked in the National Republican Congressional Committee’s research department.
Mail Man. Michael Davies has joined 360JMG, a Democratic direct-mail firm, as managing director. Davies previously served as executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
“Michael Davies is one of the most talented political minds in the business,” 360JMG partner Jeff Gumbinner said in a statement.
Georgia on Their Minds. Emil Runge and Jeff DiSantis left the Georgia Democratic Party earlier this year to found DiSantis Runge LLC, a Democratic consulting firm specializing in general and opposition-research consulting.
The company, with offices in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., launched in March and has picked up clients in the form of James Marlow (D), who is running in the 10th district special election called to replace the late Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.), and investigative journalist Dale Cardwell (D), who wants to challenge Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) in 2008.
DiSantis and Runge, the former executive director and communications director of the Georgia Democratic Party, respectively, also stole Edward Chapman away from the party. Chapman, the research director for the state party in previous cycle, is on the ground for the firm in Mississippi, handling attorney John Arthur Eaves’ gubernatorial campaign.
When the PR Pro Goes Marchant In. Veteran Democratic operative John Marchant has joined Howard Consulting Group, a political consulting and public affairs firm.
Marchant, the firm’s new public affairs director, has worked several campaigns in 12 different states over the past six years, specializing in campaign management and grass-roots organization and mobilization.
“We are very excited to have John aboard,” said Frank Howard Jr., HCG’s president and CEO.
Lauren W. Whittington contributed to this report.