COLUMBUS, Ohio – Just days after stepping away from the Ohio Republican Party, former Chairwoman Jane Timken hired two key political strategists, according to Cincinnati.com.
One hire is an expert in campaign finance and fundraising compliant with federal and Ohio election law.
The other managed U.S. Senator Rob Portman’s (R-OH) 2016 victory over former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D) and took over U.S. Representative Steve Chabot’s (R-OH-1) struggling campaign, assisting him to an almost improbable win in his 2020 campaign to retain his seat in the U.S. House.
Both hires worked together on Portman’s 2016 campaign and Chabot’s 2020 re-election.
Natalie Baur is founder of N.K.Baur & Associates, Inc., a firm dealing in political fundraising, compliance and campaign financial management, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Bauer was Portman’s finance director and treasurer since 2009. Prior to that, she served as finance director of the Ohio Republican Party from 1994 to 2000. After the GOP gig, she started her own consultancy, “well versed in Ohio election law as well as Ohio and federal lobbying and ethics law,” according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Baur came to Chabot’s rescue when investigations began into his former campaign manager after $123,000 went missing – leaving the congressman with about $35,000 entering the meat of the election. Simultaneously, Chabot brought on Bliss and his consulting firm, Beltway-based FP1 Strategies. The end result: a 7.5-point win for Chabot.
Corry Bliss was tagged a rising star in the Republican Party, having taken on heavy-hitter projects at barely 30. Before being named director of the Super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund and the issue advocacy group known as the American Action Network, Bliss earned his spurs guiding Republican Pat Roberts’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2014, moving the incumbent from behind to a nearly 11-point victory.
Most notable is Bliss’s management of Portman’s 2016 campaign. Early polls showed Portman behind, however, the retiring senator ended up clobbering his Democrat opponent, former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland.
Portman said of the campaign led by Bliss “[W]ith an emphasis on utilizing data, grassroots, and technology, Corry led our campaign from behind in the polls to a 21-point victory. He’s one of the best strategists in the country.”
However, the Congressional Leadership Fund is charged with electing Republicans to the U.S. House. Bliss became director in 2017 and in the 2018 midterm elections Republicans lost 40 seats in Congress; Democrats needed only 23 to regain a majority.
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Jack Windsor is Statehouse Reporter at The Ohio Star. Windsor is also an independent investigative reporter. Follow Jack on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Natalie Kapral Baur” by Natalie Kapral Baur. Photo “Corry Bliss” by FP1 Strategies.
