RGA adds to fundraising team after record fundraising year
February 26, 2008
Washington, DC – Governor Haley Barbour announced that George LeMieux, Ken Mehlman, Jeff Miller, Phil Musser, and Eric Tanenblatt have agreed to serve as Finance Committee Co-Chairs for the Republican Governors Association. Governor Haley Barbour is serving as the Finance Chairman. It is the first time that a Governor is chairing the Finance Committee.
“Republican governors are key leaders of our Party and will be instrumental in our resurgence,” said Governor Haley Barbour. “Giving them the resources necessary to lead our Party forward is the critical mission of RGA and our Finance Committee. These five men will make sure it happens.”
George LeMieux is a shareholder and member of the governing committee of the law firm of Gunster, Yoakley, and Stewart. He previously served as Chief of Staff to Governor Charlie Crist and headed his gubernatorial campaign team. Prior to those roles he was Deputy Attorney General for the state of Florida.
Ken Mehlman is currently a Partner at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. Before joining the Akin Gump, Mehlman served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He also acted as Campaign Manager for President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign. Prior to the campaign, Mehlman was the Political Director for the White House.
Jeff Miller is a Partner at Capitol Advocacy and is a nationally recognized expert in legislative and regulatory strategies, public relations, crisis communications and campaign finance. In 2000, Miller served as the Chief Financial Officer of the California Republican Party. Over two election cycles, Miller revamped the Party’s fundraising apparatus and was responsible for raising more than $60 million.
Phil Musser is President of New Frontier Strategy a strategic communications consulting firm. Musser served as the Executive Director of the Republican Governors Association for the 2006 election cycle. Previously, Musser was a Senior Vice President at Dutko Worldwide and Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has also held positions with Bush/Cheney 2000, the Republican National Committee, and Dole for President.
Eric Tanenblatt is a Senior Managing Director at McKenna, Long & Aldridge. Tanenblatt previously served as Governor Sonny Perdue’s Chief of Staff and as a key organizer of the 2004 G-8 Summit in Sea Island. He was also President Bush’s Georgia State Chairman for his 2000 and 2004 campaigns. Tanenblatt has held senior positions in the 1996 Dole and Gramm Presidential campaigns and for former Senator Paul Coverdell.
In 2007, RGA reported raising $21.59 million for the year, an increase of $5.61 million from what it raised in 2003 and more than $13 million more than the $8.59 million it raised in 1999. Heading into 2008 RGA reports $9.23 million cash on hand, an increase of $8.26 million, 8.5 times more than four years ago, and twice as much as any other year. RGA raised an additional $10.6 million last night at its Annual Gala.