Free Republic

ohn Kasich's presumed presidential campaign is off to a rocky start in South Carolina, with some Republican insiders there questioning two recent staff hires. The Ohio governor has yet to officially declare for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. But he has begun assembling a political operation in preparation to run, including the signing of veteran GOP consultants Fred Davis and John Weaver. That could hurt Kasich in South Carolina, host of the third nominating contest and first in the GOP-dominated South, because both Davis and Weaver worked to unseat Gov. Nikki Haley in 2014. "Congratulations to Gov. Kasich and his...

Republican ad guru Fred Davis has left Jon Huntsman's presidential campaign to join an independent expenditure group that was established recently to support the former Utah governor's presidential bid through unrestricted campaign donations, according to the group's website. Best known for producing John McCain’s 2008 “Celebrity” TV spot -- which juxtaposed images of then-Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton -- Davis earlier this year created a series of unorthodox web videos that sought to introduce Huntsman to the nation before the GOP White House contender officially launched his presidential bid. According to the website set...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign has hired two media consultants who helped President Bush win a second term in 2004. Alex Castellanos, a prominent Republican ad-maker in Arlington, Va., heads National Media. Fred Davis III, of Los Angeles, heads Strategic Perception. Both were part of the team that created the Bush campaign commercials portraying Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic nominee, as a waffling, Washington insider. The two are the latest in a string of former Bush aides hired by Schwarzenegger. His lead strategist is Matthew Dowd, who ran most aspects of Bush's re-election campaign. Schwarzenegger's campaign manager...