Phil Cox

Phil Cox (born c. 1974)^[1] is an American long-time political operative, having served as the campaign manager or senior strategist to more than one hundred campaigns and super-pacs for Congress, Governor, U.S. Senate, and President. He is co-founder of 50 State, a bipartisan, state-focused government affairs firm, co-founder of GuidePostStrategies, a federal government affairs firm, Chairman of IMGE, a digital marketing firm, and partner at P2, a public affairs firm. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia, and lives in McLean, Virginia, with his wife and two children.^[2]

Phil Cox in 2018

Early career

After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1996, from 1997 – 2001 Cox worked on a series of Virginia General Assembly campaigns, eventually helping to elect more than two dozen members. In 2001 he served as Campaign Manager for Lt. Governor John Hager’s campaign for Governor, and in 2005 helped direct Bob McDonnell’s successful campaign for Attorney General. 

From 2002 – 2005, Cox helped direct communications and fundraising for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and from 2006 – 2008 worked alongside Tim Phillips at Americans for Prosperity, directing AFP’s fundraising,  state chapter development, and issue campaigns. 

Republican Governors

In 2009, Cox served as Campaign Manager for Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell’s campaign for Governor. A year after Barack Obama won Virginia by 7 points, McDonnell enjoyed a 17-point victory^[3] over Creigh Deeds, resulting in a sweep of all three statewide offices. Following that victory, McDonnell appointed Cox as his Transition Director. 

In 2010, Governor Haley Barbour, Chairman of the Republican Governors Association, hired Cox to help oversee the RGA’s political engagement in a half dozen states, including the expensive battlegrounds of Pennsylvania and Florida. 

From 2011-2014, Phil served as Executive Director of the Republican Governors Association, the senior political adviser to the 31 Republican Governors that held office at that time. During that period the RGA directed more than $250 million in support to candidates in all 50 states.^[4] During Cox's tenure, the RGA strengthened its majority, electing 31 Republican governors, with notable wins in traditional Democratic-leaning states like Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois, and Maine.

Following the 2014 cycle, The Boston Globe called him “a force for the GOP”,^[5] The Washington Times “a Republican Kingmaker”,^[6] and Politico named him one of its “50 Politicos to Watch.”^[7][8][9]

In 2015–2016, Cox founded and directed America Leads, the presidential Super-PAC supporting New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

In 2018, Cox served as chairman and senior advisor to super-PACs in support of candidates for governor and U.S. Senate, and managed Independent Expenditure campaigns on behalf of the RGA in a handful of governors races, including the only pick-up of the cycle in Alaska.  ^[10][11][9]

In 2019, Cox served as co-chair for Trade Works for America, a national campaign which helped pass the USMCA trade agreement, making a number of public and national media appearances.

50 State, GuidePost Strategies, P2 Public Affairs, IMGE

Following his tenure at the RGA, Cox partnered with former Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Colm O'Comartun to form 50 State, a bipartisan, state-focused government affairs firm serving corporations, trade associations, and national non-profit organizations.^[12]

Following President Donald Trump's election, Cox founded GuidePost Strategies, a federally-focused government and public affairs firm, along with former RGA Policy Director, Marie Sanderson. In 2018, former White House Legislative Director, Marc Short, joined GuidePost as a partner.^[13]

Cox is a founding partner of P2 Public Affairs, a specialized communications and strategy firm that runs advocacy campaigns across the nation and in Washington, D.C.

Cox serves as chairman of the Board of IMGE,^[14] a digital consulting and marketing firm, on the board of directors for the Senate Leadership Fund, on the board of directors for WinRed, on the Board of Advisors for N2 America, and is a member of the Public Policy Council for The Michael J. Fox Foundation, which is a leader in the fight against Parkinson's disease.

Cox has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business, C-SPAN, NPR, and the Hugh Hewitt Show and is frequently cited for political commentary and analysis in national publications.^{[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] [24][25][26][27][28][29]}

References

1. Gonzales, Nathan L. (8 February 2011). "'Mr. Hustle' Takes Virginia Record to National Stage". Roll Call.
2. . 50 State. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
3. "Virginia Elections Database » Search Elections". Virginia Elections Database. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
4. News, Mike Dennison - MTN. "Fundraising by the DGA and RGA: A primer". Retrieved 14 October 2016. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
5. "Mass. native Phil Cox figures to be a force for the GOP - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
6. "Republican kingmaker Phil Cox sets eyes on 2016 race". The Washington Times. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
7. "50 politicos to watch: Political operatives - Politico Staff". Politico.com. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
8. Michael Scherer; Josh Dawsey; Anu Narayanswamy (16 June 2018) [2018-06-15]. "Pence turns VP's office into gateway for lobbyists to influence the Trump administration". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.^{[please check these dates]}
9. "The Daily 202: Generic Democrats in Midwest faring better than more fiery liberals in Sun Belt". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. 17 July 2020. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
10. "Pro-Hugin super PAC has ties to Christie". Politico.
11. Wilson, Reid (12 July 2018). "Dems seek to rebuild Rust Belt 'blue wall' in governor races". The Hill.
12. "Top staffers at RGA, DGA form consulting firm". POLITICO. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
13. "Trump's top Hill aide leaving White House amid Supreme Court battle - POLITICO". Politico.
14. "Gillespie joins IMGE board of directors - POLITICO". Politico.
15. "Mass. native Phil Cox figures to be a force for the GOP". The Boston Globe. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
16. Dorfman, Zach (15 December 2014). "Top staffers at RGA, DGA form consulting firm". Politico.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
17. "Republican kingmaker Phil Cox sets eyes on 2016 race". Washington Times. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
18. "50-State LLC Founders Discuss State Level Strategy". Business Insider. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
19. Sathian, Sanjena (18 August 2015). "Phil Cox: The GOP Operative on the Move | Provocateurs". Ozy.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
20. "Phil cox". C-span.org. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
21. Bartel, Bill (22 April 2017). "Virginia Beach native Marc Short follows his father's footsteps to a key post in Trump White House | U.S. Government". Pilotonline.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
22. "Political 'veteran' at age 36 eyed for Trump chief of staff". 16 November 2018.
23. "The blue state Trump thinks he can flip in 2020 - POLITICO". Politico.
24. "Trump's New Nafta Faces Mounting Resistance in Democratic House". The Wall Street Journal. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
25. "Lawmakers Pressed To Support the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal". NPR. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
26. "Mary, Phil Cox" (MP3). Fox News. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
27. "GOP begins grassroots campaign to sell Trump's trade deal with Mexico and Canada to skeptical voters and lawmakers". CNBC. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
28. "Trump's North American trade deal at risk of stalling in Congress". Washington Post. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
29. "Trump needs Nancy Pelosi, his biggest adversary, to help pass revamped NAFTA". Los Angeles Times. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.