More than a decade before he laid plans to leverage his credentials as a Republican mega-lobbyist and fixer into a Senate bid in Virginia, Ed Gillespie mapped out a very different political blueprint in nightly meetings convened over Chinese takeout in Philadelphia.

It was 2000, and then, as now, the electoral stakes for Republicans were high — and the party pinned its hopes and resources on Gillespie’s success. Gillespie was part of a small team organizing the Republican National Convention, four critical days that would give candidate George W. Bush his best chance to win over voters and complete his transformation from Texas governor to presidential nominee.