Bios - Panel 1: 2002 Election Analysis
Glen Bolger, Public Opinion Strategies
Glen Bolger is one of the Republican Party’s leading political strategists and pollsters. He is a partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, a national political and public affairs survey research firm whose clients include leading political figures, Fortune 500 companies, and major associations. Public Opinion Strategies has twelve U.S. Senators, eleven governors, and more than 50 Members of Congress as clients.
In the 2002 elections, Mr. Bolger handled the polling for four winning governors, including Bob Ehrlich of Maryland, and three U.S. senators, including Norm Coleman of Minnesota. Mr. Bolger also polled for 29 members of Congress, including seven freshmen. Overall, Mr. Bolger polls for seven U.S. Senators and five Governors.
National Journal noted that “Public Opinion Strategies easily turned in the best performance of the major political consulting firms during Election 2002 ... (their) success is also notable because the firm had taken on some of the biggest, toughest races in the country.” Roll Call, the newspaper that covers Capitol Hill, noted that Mr. Bolger was one of the “Money 20”—consultants in both parties who make a difference.
In state legislative races, Mr. Bolger has polled for successful Republican legislative candidates in Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, and Washington state. Mr. Bolger’s corporate polling experience includes crisis management polling for some of the top issues in recent years, as well as image and message work for major clients including Wal-Mart, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Tyson Foods, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroads, Intuit (the makers of Quicken), and numerous other Fortune 500 companies.
Prior to co-founding Public Opinion Strategies, Mr. Bolger was the director of Survey Research & Analysis for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the political arm of the House Republican Caucus. He is a graduate from The American University in Washington, D.C. Mr. Bolger is married and has three daughters.
Alex Castellanos, National Media, Inc.
Alex Castellanos is one of the Republican Party’s new generation of TV-advertising consultants. He has served as media consultant to 6 U.S. presidential campaigns. He has helped elect 9 U.S. senators, 6 governors, and enjoys over two decades of political consulting experience, both in the United States and abroad. Mr. Castellanos has also produced issue advocacy campaigns for several corporations and national associations including: Verizon Communications, American Forest & Paper Association, Federation of American Hospitals, Citizens for Better Medicare, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Fortune magazine singled out Mr. Castellanos as a “new style media master,” and National Journal calls National Media “a different kind of public affairs firm.” Mr. Castellanos brings a wealth of campaign strategy, public opinion research and communications experience to corporate communications and public policy campaigns.
Mr. Castellanos, a native of Havana, Cuba, is fluent in Spanish and English. His parents, refugees who fled Castro’s Cuba in 1961, came to this country with one suitcase, two children and eleven dollars. A Morehead and National Merit Scholar at the University of North Carolina, Mr. Castellanos lectures frequently internationally and in the United States, from Harvard University to the United States Army Communication School. He also appears frequently on CNN’s “Crossfire” and MSNBC’s “Head to Head.”
Carl Forti, National Rebulican Congressional Committee
Originally from Rochester, New York, Carl Forti joined the NRCC in May 1999 as deputy communications director. Mr. Forti serves as chief spokesperson for the NRCC and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Communications Department. He also works with individual campaigns to develop and implement communications strategy. Mr. Forti also serves as the issue advocacy director for the NRCC.
Prior to joining the NRCC, Mr. Forti served as the director of political media operations for Wilson Grand Communications, a Republican media/general consulting firm. At Wilson Grand, he was responsible for all facets of media planning, including: writing, directing, production management, producing and editing; as well as developing campaign and fundraising plans. He has worked on over 50 campaigns across the country at all levels from county council to governor to U.S. Senate.
Andrew Grossman, Executive Director, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Andrew Grossman currently serves as the DSCC’s new executive director. As political director in the 2002 cycle, Mr. Grossman successfully recruited candidates and established strong campaigns across the country. He also oversaw successful runoff race of Senator Mary Landrieu in Louisiana. As deputy executive director for the 2000 cycle, Mr. Grossman helped lead the DSCC’s effort to elect ten new Democratic senators and even the Senate at 50-50 and put Democrats in a position to regain control.
Grossman previously ran the New York coordinated campaign in 1998 when Democrats successfully ousted Sen. Al D’Amato in a tough race, electing Sen. Chuck Schumer. He started his political career working for the 1988 presidential campaign of Reverend Jesse Jackson. Andrew graduated with a B.A. from Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
Chris LaCivita, National Republican Senatorial Committee
As the political director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the historic 2002 election cycle, Chris LaCivita was responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of the NRSC’s $70 million issue advocacy campaign. This included nearly $60 million in purchased TV time, and over 155 individual “issue ads” for 17 states. Mr. LaCivita was also responsible for implementing polling, mail and phone programs in conjunction with his regional political staff.
In the 2000 election cycle, Mr. LaCivita was campaign manager of George Allen’s successful bid for the United States Senate. In a $10 million race the Allen campaign unseated a 12-year incumbent with a 4.6-point win. It was the only successful Republican U.S. Senate challenger race in the country.
Prior to leading the Allen campaign, Mr. LaCivita served as executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia, bringing the party out of a $2 million dollar debt, and provided millions in direct campaign services that delivered Virginia for Bob Dole, successfully re-elected Sen. John Warner, and in 1997 achieved a historic sweep of all three statewide offices. Following the Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General races, Mr. LaCivita successfully organized and directed seven special elections which gave Virginia Republicans its first ever majority in the state senate, and parity in the state house.
Before joining the state Republican Party, Mr. LaCivita served as political director for then-Gov. George Allen, as well as serving as an assistant Secretary of Administration, a cabinet post in which he had oversight of 5 state agencies, including the statewide procurement system. Mr. LaCivita served in the Governor’s transition team, as well as working on his 1993 campaign for Governor.
Prior to 1993, LaCivita served as a legislative assistant handling defense issues and the Judiciary Committee for then-Rep. George Allen, and served as his political director in his 1991 race for Congress. Mr. LaCivita has lectured on Virginia politics at the Kennedy School of Government, before the Jepson School of Government and taught a course at Regent University as an adjunct instructor in campaign management for two years.
Before entering politics, Mr. LaCivita served in the United State Marines Corps achieving the rank of Sergeant, saw extensive action in the Persian Gulf War and was wounded in combat and decorated twice. Chris is a 1989 graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and majored in political science and international affairs. He currently resides in Midlothian, Virginia, with his wife Catherine and their two children, Victoria and Christopher Jr.
Michael Matthews, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Michael Matthews is political director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and former director of the AFL-CIO’s National Labor Political Training Center (NLPTC). Mr. Matthews worked for former U.S. Representative and Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, as well as on the presidential campaigns of Bob Kerrey, Paul Simon and Michael Dukakis. Mr. Mathews has also been a part of political party and candidate training in Russia, Georgia, and Armenia.
Larry J. Sabato, University of Virginia Center for Politics
According to The Wall Street Journal, Larry J. Sabato is “probably the most quoted college professor in the land,” and the Washington Post calls him “the Mark McGwire of political analysts.” Dr. Sabato is Director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, and along with being the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics, he in one of just a dozen “University Professors” at U.Va.
Dr. Sabato is currently working on several multi-media projects, including a book entitled Midterm Madness: The Elections of 2002 (to be published February 2003) and “Sabato’s Crystal Ball,” a critically acclaimed election predictions and analysis website (www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball). His latest books are Overtime! The Election 2000 Thriller (Longman, 2001), Dangerous Democracy: The Battle Over Ballot Initiatives in America (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001), and Feeding Frenzy: Attack Journalism & American Politics (Lanahan, 2000).
Dr. Sabato is the recipient of more than two-dozen major scholarships, grants, and academic awards, and he has served on many national and state commissions on reform, ethics, and education. Dr. Sabato has appeared on dozens of nationally broadcast television shows, including “60 Minutes,” “Nightline,” “Face the Nation,” “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “48 Hours,” “Larry King Live,” “The Jim Lehrer News Hour,” “Beltway Boys,” and “Special Report with Brit Hume.” Far more importantly, he has had the privilege to teach approximately 13,000 students during his career.
In 1998, Dr. Sabato founded the University of Virginia Center for Politics (www.centerforpolitics.org), which is an interdisciplinary, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the proposition that government works better when politics works better, and its corollary that politics works better when citizens are informed and active participants.
Evan Tracey, Campaign Media Analysis Group
Mr. Tracey is the president and co-founder of Campaign Media Analysis Group, the leading media research company for politics and publics affairs. CMAG electronically monitors political advertising and media buys in the top 100 media markets.
Since 1996, CMAG clients have included trade associations, foundations, Fortune 100 companies, national media organizations, and academia, in addition to hundreds of national, statewide and local political campaigns.
Mr. Tracey has over 13 years of political, legislative and issue research experience. He received a master of arts from George Mason University and bachelor of arts from West Virginia Wesleyan College.
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