Joe Gaylord

Gaylord began his career with the Republican State Central Committee in Iowa. During his seven years with the committee, he worked his way through the ranks from field representative to Executive Director. In 1975 he joined the Republican National Committee. He served with the RNC for six years through the chairmanship of Mary Louise Smith and Bill Brock. In 1977, he became the Eastern Director of the Local Elections Campaign Division. He served as National Director of that division until 1981.

He served the National Republican Congressional Committee for eight years between 1981 and 1989, including six years as its Executive Director. In that role, he oversaw its political communications and management, including its national advertising campaigns, and in providing direct strategic assistance to hundreds of GOP Congressional campaigns.

Serving as the senior counselor to Speaker Newt Gingrich, the Speaker dubbed him the “irreplaceable man” for his work as principal architect for the House leadership in mapping out and leading the effort to execute a blueprint to elect a Republican Majority in the House in 1994. For his achievement, his peers in the American Association of Political Consultants named him Co-Campaign Manager of the Year.

Gaylord led the successful effort for the House leadership to re-elect the Republican House majority in 1996 and 1998 – a feat not accomplished since the days of Herbert Hoover.

In 2005 Gaylord was awarded a fellowship at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Gaylord is President of Chesapeake Associates, a political consulting firm.

A winning campaign doesn’t just happen, and there’s more than just luck involved. Today’s successful, winning campaign requires a combination of skill, creativity, and a wise utilization of resources available to the candidate and her or his team.

This study group is for those who may wish to be candidates, campaign professionals or are just curious about the process what is required to run a successful campaign. We will also talk about this year’s elections, particularly the U.S. House and Senate races, the climate we’re operating in, and what that means to individual campaigns in 2008.

Discussion Group Topic
How to Develop and Run a Successful, Winning Campaign