Steve Schmidt
Encyclopedia
Steve Schmidt is an American campaign
strategist and public relations
worker for the U.S. Republican Party
. He specializes in political "message development and strategy". Schmidt was the senior campaign strategist and advisor to the 2008 presidential campaign
of Senator John McCain
.
, and is an Eagle Scout
, a tight end on the high school football team, a two-year member of the National Honor Society
, and senior class vice president. In 1988, he was one of two graduating seniors voted "most likely to succeed" by his classmates at North Plainfield High School
. He first handed out campaign materials for Democrat Bill Bradley
's 1978 Senate campaign.
Schmidt attended the University of Delaware
from 1988 through the spring of 1993, majoring in political science. He left three credits short of graduating because he did not pass a math course; Schmidt has said that he has been diagnosed with a learning disability
that makes higher math difficult for him. He joined the Delta Tau Delta
fraternity, was a member of the campus Reserve Officers' Training Corps
(ROTC) program, and did field work for Republican candidates in Delaware
, sometimes wearing campaign buttons to class.
of Will T. Scott
, who is now Deputy Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court
. This Kentucky campaign's advertising strategy was featured in the second edition of George Magazine. In 1998, Schmidt ran California State Senator Tim Leslie
's unsuccessful race for Lt. Governor of California
. Also that year, he was the Communications Director for California State Treasurer
Matt Fong
's unsuccessful campaign to unseat U.S. Senator
Barbara Boxer
. In 1999, he was the Communications Director for Lamar Alexander
's presidential run, leaving in June when the campaign reduced its senior staff.
In 2001, he was the spokesman of the National Republican Congressional Committee
, becoming the Communications Director by 2002. He left the NRCC in early 2003 to work for the lobbying firm Direct Impact Company.
Schmidt joined the Bush administration
as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney
. In 2004, he was a member of the senior strategic planning group, led by White House
adviser Karl Rove
, that ran President George W. Bush
's re-election campaign; Schmidt oversaw the reelection "war room". In 2005 and 2006, he was the White House strategist in charge of the U.S. Supreme Court nominations of Samuel A. Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts.
. From there, he became a partner in Mercury Public Affairs, part of Fleishman-Hillard International Communications, in charge of Mercury's operations in California
.
described Schmidt's management as having transformed the McCain campaign into an "an elbows-out, risk-taking, disciplined machine," crediting him with aggressive responses to press criticism and creative methods of manipulating the news cycle.
Time
's Michael Scherer, in an opinion piece from September 15, 2008 relating to Schmidt's involvement with John McCain's presidential campaign
stated that Schmidt, the "lord of outrage, has a long and prosperous career ahead of him."
, a gay
Republican group. He said: "I just wanted to take a second to come by and pay my respect and the campaign's respect to your organization and to your group. Your organization is an important one in the fabric of our party."
Schmidt said about his lesbian
sister and her life partner: "On a personal level, my sister and her partner are an important part of my life and our children's life. I admire your group and your organization and I encourage you to keep fighting for what you believe in because the day is going to come."
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
strategist and public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
worker for the U.S. Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. He specializes in political "message development and strategy". Schmidt was the senior campaign strategist and advisor to the 2008 presidential campaign
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
of Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
.
Early life and education
Schmidt grew up in North Plainfield, New JerseyNorth Plainfield, New Jersey
North Plainfield is a Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 21,936....
, and is an Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
, a tight end on the high school football team, a two-year member of the National Honor Society
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
, and senior class vice president. In 1988, he was one of two graduating seniors voted "most likely to succeed" by his classmates at North Plainfield High School
North Plainfield High School
North Plainfield High School is a four-year public high school, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade from North Plainfield, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the North Plainfield School District...
. He first handed out campaign materials for Democrat Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley
William Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
's 1978 Senate campaign.
Schmidt attended the University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
from 1988 through the spring of 1993, majoring in political science. He left three credits short of graduating because he did not pass a math course; Schmidt has said that he has been diagnosed with a learning disability
Learning disability
Learning disability is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors...
that makes higher math difficult for him. He joined the Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta is a U.S.-based international secret letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, . It currently has around 125 student chapters nationwide, as well as more than 25 regional alumni groups. Its national community service...
fraternity, was a member of the campus Reserve Officers' Training Corps
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a college-based, officer commissioning program, predominantly in the United States. It is designed as a college elective that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.The U.S...
(ROTC) program, and did field work for Republican candidates in Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, sometimes wearing campaign buttons to class.
Early campaigns
In 1995, Steve Schmidt managed the unsuccessful campaign for Kentucky Attorney GeneralAttorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
of Will T. Scott
Will T. Scott
Will T. Scott is an Associate Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court. He was elected in November 2004 to represent the 7th Supreme Court District, which consists of 22 counties in Eastern Kentucky. Effective July 1, 2006, Justice Scott replaced Justice Martin E. Johnstone as Deputy Chief Justice...
, who is now Deputy Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court
Kentucky Supreme Court
The Kentucky Supreme Court was created by a 1975 constitutional amendment and is the state supreme court of the commonwealth of Kentucky. Prior to that the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky...
. This Kentucky campaign's advertising strategy was featured in the second edition of George Magazine. In 1998, Schmidt ran California State Senator Tim Leslie
Tim Leslie
Robert Timothy Leslie is an American politician from California and a member of the Republican Party.-Early life and education:Born in Ashland, Oregon, Leslie moved to California with his family as a two-year-old...
's unsuccessful race for Lt. Governor of California
California lieutenant governor election, 1998
The 1998 California lieutenant gubernatorial election occurred on November 3, 1998. The primary elections took place on June 2, 1998. State Assemblyman and Speaker of the Assembly Cruz Bustamante, the Democratic nominee, decisively defeated the Republican nominee, State Senator Tim Leslie, for the...
. Also that year, he was the Communications Director for California State Treasurer
California State Treasurer
The California State Treasurer is responsible for the state's investment and finance. The post has more narrow responsibilities and authority than the California State Controller...
Matt Fong
Matt Fong
Matthew Kipling Fong was a Republican who served as the 30th California State Treasurer and was also the adopted son of Democrat March Fong Eu, the 25th California Secretary of State....
's unsuccessful campaign to unseat U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
. In 1999, he was the Communications Director for Lamar Alexander
Lamar Alexander
Andrew Lamar Alexander is the senior United States Senator from Tennessee and Conference Chair of the Republican Party. He was previously the 45th Governor of Tennessee from 1979 to 1987, United States Secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993 under President George H. W...
's presidential run, leaving in June when the campaign reduced its senior staff.
Washington, D.C.
By late 2000, Schmidt was communications director of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.In 2001, he was the spokesman of the National Republican Congressional Committee
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
, becoming the Communications Director by 2002. He left the NRCC in early 2003 to work for the lobbying firm Direct Impact Company.
Schmidt joined the Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
. In 2004, he was a member of the senior strategic planning group, led by White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
adviser Karl Rove
Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
, that ran President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's re-election campaign; Schmidt oversaw the reelection "war room". In 2005 and 2006, he was the White House strategist in charge of the U.S. Supreme Court nominations of Samuel A. Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts.
California
In 2006, Schmidt left the White House to become the campaign manager in the re-election campaign for California Governor Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
. From there, he became a partner in Mercury Public Affairs, part of Fleishman-Hillard International Communications, in charge of Mercury's operations in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
2008 McCain presidential campaign
On July 2, 2008, Schmidt was appointed to head up day to day operations of the McCain campaign in response to concerns that the campaign lacked coordination and a clear message. Rick Davis retained the formal title of "campaign manager".Press commentary
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described Schmidt's management as having transformed the McCain campaign into an "an elbows-out, risk-taking, disciplined machine," crediting him with aggressive responses to press criticism and creative methods of manipulating the news cycle.
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
's Michael Scherer, in an opinion piece from September 15, 2008 relating to Schmidt's involvement with John McCain's presidential campaign
John McCain presidential campaign, 2008
John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona, launched his second candidacy for the presidency of the United States in an unsuccessful bid to win the 2008 presidential election. His candidacy, in the works for a number of years, was informally announced on February 28, 2007 during a...
stated that Schmidt, the "lord of outrage, has a long and prosperous career ahead of him."
Stance on gay rights
Schmidt voiced his support for gay rights at meeting of the Log Cabin RepublicansLog Cabin Republicans
The Log Cabin Republicans is an organization that works within the Republican Party to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians in the United States with state chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C...
, a gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
Republican group. He said: "I just wanted to take a second to come by and pay my respect and the campaign's respect to your organization and to your group. Your organization is an important one in the fabric of our party."
Schmidt said about his lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
sister and her life partner: "On a personal level, my sister and her partner are an important part of my life and our children's life. I admire your group and your organization and I encourage you to keep fighting for what you believe in because the day is going to come."
External links
- Bio at Mercury Public Affairs
- McCain Orders Shake-Up of His Campaign, New York Times, July 3, 2008