Jeff Larson Explained

Jeff Larson is an American political consultant and entrepreneur who served as CEO of the Minneapolis St. Paul 2008 Host Committee, which organized the 2008 Republican National Convention.[1] He worked on Reince Priebus's successful campaign to become RNC Chairman and in 2011 became RNC Chief of Staff. In March 2013 he became Senior Advisor to Reince Priebus and the Chief of Staff position went to Mike Shields.

Career

In 1999, Larson co-founded and became a partner, with fellow Republicans Tony Feather and Tom Synhorst, in a consortium of media consultancy companies, Feather Larson & Synhorst - DCI. The company was actively involved in supporting George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential primaries and received $21.3 million from the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004.[2] Larson specializes in tele-fundraising and voter contact programs.[3] According to the New York Times, Larson's firm has been tied to the onslaught of negative robocalls about Senator Barack Obama on behalf of Senator John McCain.[4] Larson told the Minneapolis Star Tribune, however, that FLS Connect is not involved in nationwide robo-calls attacking Obama, although his firm has been hired to make live calls in Minnesota on behalf of McCain.[5]

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, FLS Connect received between $1 million and $2 million in federally backed small business loans from The Central Trust Bank as part of the Paycheck Protection Program.[6] [7]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.politicsinminnesota.com/2008/oct22/1313/8-million-man-jeff-larson-looks-forward-returning-obscurity Saint Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report (October 22, 2008) "The $8 million man: Jeff Larson looks forward to returning to obscurity"
  2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35067-2004Dec29.html Washington Post (December 30, 2004) "How the two parties split their millions"
  3. Web site: FLS Connect official website list of partners . 2008-10-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091214200752/http://www.flsconnect.com/partners.html . 2009-12-14 . dead .
  4. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/23/us/politics/23palin.html?ref=style New York Times, $150,000 Wardrobe for Palin May Alter Tailor-Made Image", October 22, 2008
  5. http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/conventions/33193749.html Minneapolis Star Tribune (October 23, 2008) "Meet the 'Clark Kent' behind Palin's wardrobe"
  6. Web site: FLS CONNECT LLC - Coronavirus Bailouts - ProPublica . Syed . Moiz . Willis . Derek . ProPublica . 9 July 2020 .
  7. Web site: After railing against federal spending, GOP lawmakers, conservative groups benefit from government aid program . Tom Hamburger . Aaron Gregg . Anu Narayanswamy . Washington Post . 8 July 2020 . 9 July 2020 .