Shop Talk: Great Scott, Another State!
Democratic campaign strategist Scott Arceneaux sure does get around — to different states that is. Arceneaux was just announced as the new executive director for the Florida Democratic Party.
[IMGCAP(1)]“The Florida Democratic Party is in the best shape it has been in years,— Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said in a statement from the state party. “We won’t miss a beat with Scott.—
Arceneaux, a protégé of James Carville, is a veteran of Louisiana politics. But after relocating to the Washington, D.C., area in 2005, he’s been involved in Maryland and Virginia races as well as presidential politics.
Most recently, Arceneaux was part of the team that helped state Sen. Creigh Deeds win the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Virginia. Before that, he was national political director for Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) 2008 presidential bid.
In 2006, he managed Democrat Judy Feder’s campaign against Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.). Before that, he was campaign manager of Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan’s (D) 2006 gubernatorial bid in Maryland. Duncan lost the primary to then-Baltimore Mayor and now-Gov. Martin O’Malley (D).
From 2001 to 2004, Arceneaux was executive director of the Louisiana Democratic Party and director of the state Democratic coordinated campaign. There he was involved in helping to re-elect Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) in 2002 and elect Democrat Kathleen Blanco governor in 2003. In the 2004 cycle, Arceneaux managed then-Rep. Chris John’s (D-La.) unsuccessful Senate bid.
In related news, Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink (D) has picked a campaign manager to run her gubernatorial bid in 2010. Paul Dunn most recently helped Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-Fla.) win her first election in 2008. He served as statewide coordinated campaign manager for Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-Mo.) bid in 2006.
Kozak’s First-String. Attorney Chuck Kozak (R) has tapped a team of seasoned Pennsylvania-based operatives to run his campaign against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in 2010. The former All-America basketball player is the only major Republican in the Nevada Senate race so far.
Keystone State consultant Chris Mottola will do Kozak’s media for his campaign, while IKON Public Affairs’ Craig Snyder — a former chief of staff to then-Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) — will be his general consultant, according to a source close to Kozak.
A veteran of former Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R-Pa.) operation and several other Republican campaigns in Pennsylvania, Vince Galko is advising Kozak on his grass-roots operation.
Gene Ulm of Public Opinion Strategies will do Kozak’s polling, and Sagac Public Affairs is charged with his fundraising, says the Kozak source.
Becki Donatelli of the national GOP firm Campaign Solutions will do the online fundraising for Kozak.
Perry Picking. Rob Johnson, the chief of staff to Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, is leaving his post to run Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) re-election battle in the Lone Star State.
Perry is facing a primary challenge from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R), who is stepping down from her seat in the coming weeks to mount her campaign.
The Boy Who Cried WUFPAC. The political action committee dedicated to supporting female candidates from either party who are 40 years old or younger is broadening its scope with a new “Six State Strategy.—
The Women Under Forty PAC will target women running for local and state offices in six states: Texas, Virginia, New York, Arizona, Washington and Minnesota. According to WUFPAC organizers, the new program will endorse local and state candidates, plus offer structural support for their campaign and advice from top national consultants.
Scott Free. The Republican National Committee has named Scott Kamins as its deputy chief of staff for government affairs.
A veteran of the Bush administration, Kamins was deputy assistant secretary of State for legislative affairs and director of house affairs. He also served as director of Congressional and public affairs at the Commerce Department.
Apple Fell Far From the Tree. The Democratic National Committee has tapped Colin Holtz-Eakin as an e-mail strategist. Holtz-Eakin was a consultant at M+R Strategic Services, an intern at the New Organizing Institute and studied at Swarthmore College.
Holtz-Eakin is the son of Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the senior policy adviser to Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) 2008 presidential campaign and former director of the Congressional Budget Office.
And You Thought Your Candidate Was Funny? A bipartisan group of consultants have joined forces to create a Web-based political entertainment network.
Republican consultants John Brabender, Sara Taylor, Leslie Gromis and Mike Mihalke have combined with their Democratic counterparts Tad Devine and Julian Mulvey to create Zolitics.com.
“We’re creating a network on the Internet for the fun side of politics,— Brabender said in an interview about the new network.
Their first program, “Moving Numbers,— is a fictional dramedy about a dysfunctional campaign for Senate. Viewers can look forward to 12 episodes of the show, which poke fun at pollsters, opposition researchers, media consultants and — of course — the candidates.
“Everybody has stories to tell about how strange political campaigns are,— Brabender added.
What’s more, viewers can expect several cameos from well-known consultants: Democratic presidential consultant Bob Schrum will fictionally advise a candidate in debate, plus former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge (R) is scheduled to make an appearance as well.
“Moving Numbers— is the first of five programs in development for the network, which has been put together on the consultants’ own resources. The show is set to premiere in early September, but previews are available at Zolitics.com.
Lauren W. Whittington contributed to this report.
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