Veteran GOP strategist Mike DuHaime will manage the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s independent expenditure arm for the 2010 cycle.

DuHaime joins the committee after serving on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) successful 2009 campaign. He previously served as political director for the Republican National Committee and on the presidential campaigns of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). DuHaime was regional political director for President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign.

“Mike DuHaime has an enormous amount of campaign experience and political expertise, and he will serve as an invaluable resource directing this important component of the NRSC’s operation during the 2010 midterms,” NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) said in a statement. “I have no doubt that Mike will serve as a crucial member of our team as we wage an aggressive national campaign to pick up as many Senate seats as possible in November.”

Selecting an operative to run their independent expenditure operations is a particularly important decision for the campaign committees because these individuals must operate behind a firewall in deciding where and how to spend precious resources, and staffers at the committees are prohibited by law from being involved in those decisions.