Shop Talk: Joseph Kennedy’s Northwind Strategy
Joseph Kennedy III, who officially launched his bid last week for Massachusetts’ open 4th district seat, has hired the same Democratic strategy firm that is leading Elizabeth Warren’s Senate campaign.
The son of former Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) and grandson of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy (D-N.Y.), Kennedy has signed up Northwind Strategies, which is led by Doug Rubin and Kyle Sullivan.
Rubin was senior strategist on both of Gov. Deval Patrick’s campaigns and spent more than two years as Patrick’s chief of staff. Sullivan, a former staffer to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), served as Patrick’s communications director.
The Future Is Now
Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy (R), who has a clear path to re-election, hired a former strategist to Gov. Bobby Jindal, leading to speculation that Cassidy is preparing for a 2014 Senate bid, multiple Louisiana outlets reported.
Timmy Teepell, who lives in Baton Rouge, is a partner at Republican strategy firm OnMessage Inc. He helped lead Jindal’s successful re-election last year and served as the governor’s chief of staff.
Teepell told the Baton Rouge Advocate on Wednesday that he is sure there will be challengers to Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) in 2014, but he is “100 percent focused on 2012.” Cassidy’s press secretary, John Cummins, reiterated that to the newspaper, adding that “2014 is a long way off.”
Landrieu, who hasn’t won with more than 52 percent in her three Senate elections, will likely be near the top of national Republicans’ target list.
Over the River
C.R. Wooters, former chief of staff to Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), has left Capitol Hill to join Purple Strategies.
“Purple presented me with a great opportunity to apply some of that knowledge and campaign experience to the private sector,” the Maryland native wrote in an email.
Wooters served as director of incumbent retention at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee under Van Hollen and as director of member services when the lawmaker served as special assistant to the Speaker before becoming his personal office chief of staff. Wooters has worked on the Hill and on campaigns for more than a dozen years.
Purple Strategies, a bipartisan public affairs firm based in Alexandria, Va., was launched by Steve McMahon, Alex Castellanos and Bruce Haynes.
Gingrich Has Some Moore
Newt Gingrich has hired Lew Moore to lead his organization in Washington ahead of the state’s March 3 caucuses, the Seattle Times reported.
Moore is a former chief of staff to the late Rep. Jack Metcalf (R), who served three terms in the late 1990s, and was national campaign manager for Rep. Ron Paul’s
(R-Texas) 2008 presidential campaign.
Same Address, New Floor
Adam Hodge has moved to a new floor at Democratic headquarters.
Hodge, most recently a regional press secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is now serving at the Democratic National Committee as a regional press secretary and director of African-American media.
“While my time at the DCCC was short, I loved the experience and worked with some incredible people,” Hodge wrote in an email. “I’m excited about the opportunity to help re-elect the President and work with a great team here at the DNC.”
Not Holden Out
Matt Cartwright, an attorney challenging Pennsylvania Rep. Tim Holden in the Democratic primary, recently announced his consulting team.
David Browne is handling media, Marc Silverman of Thirty-Ninth Street Strategies is the pollster, Doug Hasson of Bridge Communications is running direct mail and Stephanie Mellinger is Cartwright’s fundraiser.
Holden, a Blue Dog, is sticking with the consultants who have helped him return to Congress every two years for much of the past two decades: Alan Secrest and Joe Trippi. Secrest has been a Holden strategist since 1992 and Trippi since 2002. Sue Hothem of Benchmark Strategies is Holden’s fundraiser.
Jessica Brady contributed to this report.
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