Edward W. Gillespie
Ed Gillespie is a founder and co-chairman of Quinn Gillespie & Associates and is regarded as one of the most prominent and successful strategists in the Republican Party. He served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) for the 2004 election cycle. He was the first RNC Chairman in 80 years to preside over the re-election of a Republican president while retaining Republican majorities in both the House and Senate. In recognition of these efforts, National Review magazine called Mr. Gillespie an "indispensable member of the triumphant troika under Bush" (along with campaign manager Ken Mehlman and White House strategist Karl Rove). Most recently, he was elected to serve as Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.
In 2002, he was general strategist for Elizabeth Dole’s senate campaign in North Carolina, in which Dole garnered the biggest margin of victory of any Senate candidate in the state in over 25 years. Dole and former Clinton chief-of-staff Erskine Bowles combined to wage the most expensive senate race in the country, and the Dole campaign has been cited by numerous political analysts as one of the best of the 2002 election cycle.
Mr. Gillespie’s political work on behalf of President George W. Bush is well known, ranging from his management of the highly regarded convention program in Philadelphia in the summer of 2000 to his service as Senior Communications Advisor in Austin to his aggressive spokesman role during the historic recount in Florida, to serving as Communications Director for the President’s inauguration in January of 2001. In the summer of 2005, Mr. Gillespie led the confirmation efforts for Chief Justice John Roberts. He also advised Justice Samuel Alito during his confirmation process.
In 1996, Mr. Gillespie served as Director of Communications and Congressional Affairs for the Republican National Committee under then Chairman Haley Barbour. Prior to that, he served for over a decade as a top aide to former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX). He was a principal drafter of the now famous “Contract with America,” which in 1994 swept Republicans to control of the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. Mr. Gillespie edited the paperback book Contract with America, which climbed to number two on the New York Times’ bestseller’s list in February 1995. Most recently, he authored Winning Right: Campaign Politics and Conservative Policies, published by Simon and Schuster. He serves on the Johns Hopkins Medicine Board of Trustees and is also a member of the Board of Directors of Horton’s Kids.
Mr. Gillespie is a graduate of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He is married to the former Cathy Hay, who he met playing softball in the Capitol Hill League. They live in Fairfax County near historic Mount Vernon with their three children, John Patrick, Carrie and Mollie Brigid.
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