Kasich forms powerhouse national strategy team

Fresh off winning his home state of Ohio, Gov. John Kasich has formed an influential national strategy team that has years of presidential and election experience between them ready to help the third to last man in the GOP nominating race get to the Republican Convention and win.

The team includes long-time consultants that have worked for former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, as well as Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain. And it includes the guru of successful Tennessee GOP politics.

“Governor Kasich showed tonight how you defeat Donald Trump and bring our party together,” said John Weaver, chief strategist of Kasich For America. “This is going to be a long road to the nomination in Cleveland, and we’re thrilled to grow our team of advisers with some of the best minds in the Republican Party.”

The team:

— Stu Spencer served as chief political strategist for President Ronald Reagan’s California gubernatorial campaigns in 1966 and 1970 and presidential campaigns in 1980 and 1984. As chief political strategist to President Gerald Ford, Spencer played a central role in helping Ford secure the Republican nomination at the Kansas City Convention in 1976.

— Charlie Black has advised President Ronald Reagan, President George H.W. Bush and President George W. Bush. He also served as the senior political adviser for Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign.

— Former Congressman Vin Weber represented Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District from 1981-1983 and the 2nd Congressional District from 1983-1993. A close advisor to Newt Gingrich, he is widely credited for his contributions to the Republican Party’s 1994 victories. He served as a top political advisor to Sen. Bob Dole in 1996, President George W. Bush in 1996 and Governor Mitt Romney in 2008.

— Longtime Tennessee political operative Tom Ingram previously served as a political advisor to presidential candidate Gov. Jeb Bush. He has overseen successful political campaigns for U.S. Senator Fred Thompson, U.S. Senator Bob Corker, Governor Bill Haslam and Governor Don Sundquist. As chief of staff to U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, Ingram was Chairman of the Senate Bipartisan Chiefs of Staff organization and Staff Director of the Senate Republican Conference.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]

Related Content