Handel Announces Senate Campaign Team

ROSWELL, GA – Former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel today announced her US. Senate senior campaign team. It includes political professionals with extensive Georgia and national experience.

“Running an ethical and effective campaign that thoroughly addresses the issues is as important to me as winning,” Karen said. “This team is going to help me do both. They are highly-regarded, experienced and uncompromising in their personal and political standards and I am proud to have them by my side as we work to find solutions for Georgia and America.”

The Handel for Senate Campaign Team includes:

General Consultant – Chris LaCivita

Chris is a nationally known Republican political consultant, former U.S. Marine and recipient of the Purple Heart from his service in the Persian Gulf War. LaCivita has twice served as Political Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).
Under his leadership at NRSC, Republicans gained control of the U.S. Senate in 2002 and 5 U.S. Senate seats in 2010. In 2004 and in 2012, LaCivita served as a strategic consultant to the NRSC. Also in 2004, LaCivita was the chief strategist to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and co-producer of their TV ads. LaCivita has consulted on races across the country, including campaigns for U.S. Senators George Allen and Bob Corker. In addition to his role in Karen Handel’s campaign for U.S. Senate, LaCivita is currently the general consultant for Ken Cuccinelli’s gubernatorial campaign in Virginia.

Campaign Manager — Corry Bliss

Corry is an attorney who started his political career in Virginia. During the 2012 election cycle, Corry managed Linda McMahon’s Senate race in Connecticut overseeing a $50 million dollar budget and a grassroots campaign that made over 2 million voter contacts. Prior to that he managed a Governor’s race in Vermont and several races in Virginia at the state and federal levels. Corry is a graduate of Boston University and the CUNY School of Law.

Treasurer – Roger Santi

Roger received his CPA designation in 1990 from the Georgia State Board of Accountancy and the North Carolina State Board of Accountancy. Roger graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration majoring in Accounting. He has practiced in the field of public accounting for 28 years. He served as Treasurer for Karen’s Secretary of State and gubernatorial races and as an advisor to John Linder’s congressional campaigns.

Legal Consultants — Strickland Brockington Lewis LLP

Strickland Brockington Lewis LLP is an Atlanta law firm recognized for its expertise in election law and campaign finance. The firm represents candidates, campaign committees, political action committees and SuperPACs in state and federal elections. The firm has a long history of doing legal work in government and politics, including representing the Georgia General Assembly and the State of Georgia during the successful 2011 redistricting and in the Voter ID litigation.

Pollster – Whit Ayres

Dr. Whit Ayres is a leading Washington, D.C. political consultant with over 30 years of experience in polling and survey research for high profile political campaigns and associations.

As President of North Star Opinion Research, (www.northstaropinion.com) a national public opinion and public affairs research firm located in Alexandria, Virginia, Whit provides message development advice and strategic insights to high level political clients including U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Lamar Alexander, Bob Corker, Lindsey Graham, and Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, and association clients including the Boy Scouts of America, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association. He also served as Karen’s pollster in her Secretary of State and gubernatorial campaigns.

Whit is a frequent commentator on network and cable media outlets including NBC’s Meet the Press, FOX News, CNN, NPR and the BBC. His comments and analysis appear in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and numerous regional newspapers.

Whit founded his company after a career as a tenured professor at the University of South Carolina. Whit is a graduate of Davidson College and holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Communications Consultant: Dan McLagan, Tactical Communications Solutions

Dan McLagan served as a spokesman and public relations strategist for some of the highest profile political candidates of the last two decades; and also fought intensive PR battles in the private sector.

In Georgia, Dan served as Communications Director for Sonny Perdue’s long-shot gubernatorial campaign in 2002, and as the Governor’s spokesman at the State Capitol from 2003 to 2007. He also served as spokesman for Karen’s campaign for Governor in 2010. His political clients have included four presidential candidates (Bush ’88 and ’92, Alexander ’96, and McCain 2000) Governors, U.S. Senators (including the late Paul Coverdell), as well as the National Republican Senatorial Committee, where he served as Press Secretary.

Finance Consultant: Ashlee Reid Morehouse

Ashlee Reid Morehouse is the founder of Oorbeek Morehouse Strategies, a Republican fundraising and campaign consulting firm with extensive relationships in Georgia and Washington, D.C. Ashlee has served on numerous campaigns for Governor, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives in roles including campaign manager, political director, finance director, and as senior strategist in polling and fundraising.

Direct Mail: Ron Butler, Creative Direct

Ron Butler is President of Creative Direct, one of the most successful Republican voter contact direct mail firms in the nation. Creative Direct’s clients have included The Republican Governor’s Association, The National Republican Senatorial Committee, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Congressman Tom Graves, Governor Sonny Perdue, Karen Handel for Governor, Senator Bob Corker, Senator John Thune, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black and more than a dozen members of the Georgia House and Senate. Prior to forming Creative Direct, Ron managed many successful campaigns, and he served for five years as Political Director for the Republican Party of Virginia and worked as Field Director for the Republican National Committee.

Internet/Social Media: Vincent Harris, Harris Media, LLC

Harris first garnered national attention for his work on behalf of Mike Huckabee’s Presidential campaign, and subsequently ran digital for the Presidential campaigns of Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich. Recently he head up digital operations for Ted Cruz’ successful U.S. Senate campaign. He was named the youngest “Rising Star” in politics by Campaigns & Elections Magazine. Other clients have included Florida Governor Rick Scott, Governor Nikki Haley, and Governor Jan Brewer.

Scheduling: Sarah Beth Kirbo

Sarah Beth has served as a communications specialist in the Georgia Secretary of State’s office under Karen Handel and Brian Kemp. She was also the scheduler and fundraising coordinator for Barry Fleming’s 2008 congressional campaign. She took an early interest in public policy and communications as a staff writer for the Auburn Plainsman and as an intern in Governor Sonny Perdue’s office.

Grassroots Coordinator: Tori Wester

Tori is a GOP activist and political science student at Kennesaw State University. In 2011, she founded the Cherokee County Young Republicans, is the current chair of the KSU College Republicans, and has served as a field representative, campaign manager, and legislative aide for various candidates and elected officials around the state.