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Lord of the Campaign

Attorney Bob Lord (D), hoping to upend Rep. John Shadegg (R) in Arizona’s 3rd district, has hired Andrew Eldredge-Martin to manage his campaign. Eldredge-Martin is set to join Lord’s campaign in January. [IMGCAP(1)]

In the previous cycle, Eldredge-Martin managed now-Rep. Christopher Carney’s (D-Pa.) victory over then-Rep. Don Sherwood (R) in the Keystone State’s 10th district. Like Pennsylvania’s 10th, Shadegg’s district leans Republican — though Shadegg isn’t plagued by scandal the way Sherwood was.

“We could not be happier to have someone with Andrew’s experience leading our team,” Lord said in a statement. “He knows how to win.”

Also among Lord’s disciples are Democratic pollster Anna Bennett of the Washington, D.C., firm Bennett, Petts and Normington and Democratic direct-mail consultant Karen Petel of the D.C.- and Florida-based Mack/Crounse Group. Both Bennett and Petel advised now-

Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Ariz.) in the previous cycle in his victory over incumbent Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) in the adjoining 5th district.

Meanwhile, Ziemba Waid Public Affairs is providing Lord with general consulting services.

Abate a Candidate. Attorney Camille Abate, running in the Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 5th district and hoping to earn a shot at Rep. Scott Garrett (R), has hired Doug Jaraczewski as her general consultant and fundraising adviser.

Jaraczewski’s firm, Campaign Finance Group Inc., is based in Washington. He is the former director of the Democratic National Committee’s major gifts program.

Gayle Force Candidacy. State Rep. Gayle Harrell, running in the Republican primary in Florida’s 16th district, has landed Florida state Senate President Ken Pruitt (R) as her honorary campaign chairman.

If Harrell wins her competitive primary, she’ll earn the right to challenge freshman Rep. Tim Mahoney (D) in the general election.

Advising Harrell in a professional capacity are her longtime consultants Randy Nielsen and Rich Johnston of the West Palm Beach firm Public Concepts.

Additionally, Gene Ulm of Public Opinion Strategies is serving as her pollster; Adam Goodman, a veteran of Florida politics, will be Harrell’s media consultant; Trey Richardson and Jody Thomas of Sagac Public Affairs will handle fundraising; and Brian Brooks will serve as her campaign manager.

In the past, Goodman has advised former New York Mayor and Republican presidential frontrunner Rudy Giuliani, as well as former Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.).

House of Cardwell Collapses. Dale Cardwell, a long-shot candidate in Georgia’s Democratic Senate primary, has severed his ties to general consultants Jeff DiSantis and Emil Runge.

DiSantis and Runge, veteran Democratic strategists, left the Georgia Democratic Party earlier this year to form DiSantis Runge LLC, a firm that specializes in general consulting and opposition research.

Meanwhile, Cardwell, a former investigative TV journalist, must get through a crowded primary to earn the right to face heavily favored Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) in the general election.

Keeping the Faith. The Rev. E. Terri LaVelle has been named staff director of the Democratic National Committee’s Faith in Action Initiative.

The DNC has used the Faith in Action Initiative to strengthen it ties to members of the religious community nationwide. These efforts include national- and state-level outreach to diverse faiths in coordination with the DNC’s 50-state strategy.

LaVelle, an ordained Baptist minister, comes to the DNC after serving as program director of The Faith & Politics Institute in Washington, an organization that brings Members of Congress, staff, and other public officials across partisan lines to talk about faith and values.

California Dreamin’. The California Republican Party recently named Bill Christiansen as chief operating officer. Christiansen’s résumé includes service as the state GOP’s Victory 2006 director, executive director for the Arizona Republican Party and executive director for eight years of the Republican Party of Orange County, Calif.

Also, the California Republican Party has appointed Kathy Tavoularis as executive director of the state delegation to the 2008 Republican National Convention, scheduled for Sept. 1-4 in St. Paul, Minn.

Ditto That. Trey Ditto has landed in New York as an associate vice president for Rubenstein Associates Inc., a corporate public relations firm.

Ditto comes to Rubenstein Associates from the Department of Education, where he served as deputy press secretary. He previously worked at Shirley & Banister Public Affairs and got his start in politics working for the Texas Republican Party.

Forward March. America Forward, a new umbrella group representing 60 advocacy organizations located throughout the country, has signed some big names to serve as co-chairmen, including David Gergen, editor-at-large of U.S. News & World Report magazine and former adviser to Democratic and Republican presidents.

Joining Gergen as co-chairmen of America Forward are Vanessa Kirsch, president and founder of New Profit Inc.; Jeff Swartz, president and CEO of The Timberland Co.; and Mark Nunnelly, managing director of Bain Capital, former Massachusetts Gov. and presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s (R) old firm.

America Forward’s stated goal is to “call for a fresh vision of government, and challenge presidential candidates of both parties to support the innovative solutions being developed outside of Washington that achieve results in addressing America’s greatest domestic challenges.”

Nickel and Dimed. Joseph Luchok, the manager for public affairs and communications at the March of Dimes, has lost his job because of a restructuring at the organization that eliminated his position.

His last day with the charity organization was two weeks ago.

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