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Schwarzenegger hires Cheney staffer to run campaign
By GARY DELSOHN
Sacramento Bee
04-JAN-06
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A top White House political operative has been hired to run Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign.
Sources close to the governor confirmed Wednesday that Steve Schmidt, who has been in charge of press relations for Vice President Dick Cheney, will begin working for Schwarzenegger's campaign next month.
The sources did not want to be identified because Schwarzenegger plans to make a formal announcement soon.
Schmidt's hiring comes about a month after Schwarzenegger angered many Republicans by choosing a Democrat, Susan Kennedy, as his chief of staff.
"It's a smart hire for two reasons," Dan Schnur, a Republican political consultant, said of Schmidt. "First, he's got very good political instincts. But more important, he's going to bring a level of discipline to Schwarzenegger's political operation that was missing for most of the past year."
Schmidt's hiring does not affect the status of Mike Murphy, the governor's chief political strategist when he ran for governor in 2003 and during his ill-fated special election campaign last year.
Murphy, who represents other political clients and is also working on entertainment projects in Los Angeles, has told Schwarzenegger he'll make a decision sometime this month on his exact role in the re-election race.
Schmidt, who was described in a recent New York Times profile as "one of those people most Americans have never heard of who is at the center of the big brawls in Washington," has been assigned by the White House as lead communications expert for the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito.
In a June article in the National Journal, the 35-year-old Schmidt was described as having been part of President George W. Bush's "rapid-response team" in the presidential campaign against Sen. John Kerry.
The article also said Schmidt, a New Jersey native with a political science degree from the University of Delaware, "found his niche after hitting if off with Cheney during the veep's 2004 debate preparation."
Schmidt is the second Washington political operative recently hired by Schwarzenegger after coming highly recommended by officials at the White House. Adam Mendelsohn, a 31-year-old Republican political strategist, starts Jan. 15 as the governor's new communications director.
By GARY DELSOHN
Sacramento Bee
04-JAN-06
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A top White House political operative has been hired to run Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign.
Sources close to the governor confirmed Wednesday that Steve Schmidt, who has been in charge of press relations for Vice President Dick Cheney, will begin working for Schwarzenegger's campaign next month.
The sources did not want to be identified because Schwarzenegger plans to make a formal announcement soon.
Schmidt's hiring comes about a month after Schwarzenegger angered many Republicans by choosing a Democrat, Susan Kennedy, as his chief of staff.
"It's a smart hire for two reasons," Dan Schnur, a Republican political consultant, said of Schmidt. "First, he's got very good political instincts. But more important, he's going to bring a level of discipline to Schwarzenegger's political operation that was missing for most of the past year."
Schmidt's hiring does not affect the status of Mike Murphy, the governor's chief political strategist when he ran for governor in 2003 and during his ill-fated special election campaign last year.
Murphy, who represents other political clients and is also working on entertainment projects in Los Angeles, has told Schwarzenegger he'll make a decision sometime this month on his exact role in the re-election race.
Schmidt, who was described in a recent New York Times profile as "one of those people most Americans have never heard of who is at the center of the big brawls in Washington," has been assigned by the White House as lead communications expert for the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito.
In a June article in the National Journal, the 35-year-old Schmidt was described as having been part of President George W. Bush's "rapid-response team" in the presidential campaign against Sen. John Kerry.
The article also said Schmidt, a New Jersey native with a political science degree from the University of Delaware, "found his niche after hitting if off with Cheney during the veep's 2004 debate preparation."
Schmidt is the second Washington political operative recently hired by Schwarzenegger after coming highly recommended by officials at the White House. Adam Mendelsohn, a 31-year-old Republican political strategist, starts Jan. 15 as the governor's new communications director.