Former Reagan and George H.W. Bush administration appointee David McIntosh is succeeding Chris Chocola as president of the insurgent conservative campaign group Club for Growth.
McIntosh told friends Monday in an end-of-the-year email that he expects to “be back directly in policy debates advocating free markets and economic liberty policies. The club’s affiliated PAC supports clients for national office who are strong leaders for these principles.”
The Washington, D.C.-based group said Chocola is retiring but will remain on the club’s board of directors.
“While I am saddened that Chris has chosen to depart, I am ecstatic that he is remaining on the board and that we have someone of the caliber of David McIntosh to fill his shoes. David is a movement conservative who believes deeply that prosperity and opportunity comes from economic freedom, and I know he’s ready to lead the Club for Growth into 2015 and beyond,” said Jackson T. Stephens Jr., the club’s chairman.
McIntosh served two terms in the House of Representatives from Indiana. During that time, he was chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of conservative Republicans. Prior to joining Club for Growth, he was a partner in the government relations practice at Mayer Brown LLP and co-chairman of the Conservative Action Project, along with former Attorney General Edwin Meese.
In an attempt to return to Congress, McIntosh lost a Republican congressional primary in 2012 by 1,012 votes to former U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks.
From Chocola represented the same Indiana congressional district in which McIntosh had served, from 2003 to 2007.
Mark Tapscott is executive editor of the Washington Examiner.
