Wesley
Donehue joins Ron Thomas and Sheri Few as Senior Advisor
Columbia, SC
– Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann
announced today the team that will lead her presidential campaign to
victory in the
nation’s key “first-in-the-south’” primary. Joining previously
announced senior advisor Ron Thomas and state campaign
director Sheri Few is South Carolina political strategist Wesley
Donehue. Donehue will help lead state strategy and communications, as
well as aiding
the national new media team.
“We’re
running in South Carolina to win, and I know Ron, Wesley, and Sheri
will help me deliver my message of controlling spending, limiting
government, and
securing the border to the people of the Palmetto State," Bachmann
said. "South Carolinians want someone with a proven track record of
fighting to uphold our conservative values, both personally and
politically; I am that candidate."
The full South Carolina team includes:
SC Senior Advisor, Ron Thomas
Thomas
served as President George W.
Bush’s appointee as deputy assistant secretary for policy in the United
States Department of Veterans Affairs. He also served as the designated
federal official for the Secretary’s Advisory Committee of Operation
Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom Veterans and Families. In
2004,
Mr. Thomas was elected second vice chairman of the South Carolina
Republican Party. He is former political director for the SCGOP, a
delegate to the
2004 Republican National Convention, vice chairman of the South
Carolina delegation, and the vice president of the South Carolina
Republican Party
Convention. Thomas is a 1997 grad of USMA at West Point and a 2004
graduate of the USC School of Law.
SC Senior Advisor and SC
Communications Director, Wesley Donehue
Wesley Donehue will serve as a SC consultant and SC communications
director and he will aide in national new
media outreach. Donehue is the CEO of Donehue Direct, a Columbia,
SC-based political consulting and Internet strategy firm. He currently
serves as the
political director and spokesman for the SC Senate Republican Caucus
and the general consultant for numerous members of the SC General
Assembly.
Donehue is currently the senior Internet consultant for campaigns
across the country, including Congressman Joe Wilson in South Carolina.
Last cycle
he served as a strategist for the SC Republican Party, helping lead the
party to historic wins.
SC State Campaign Director, Sheri Few
Few is the founder and president of SC Parents Involved in Education.
Mrs. Few is a gubernatorial appointee to the South Carolina Commission
on
Women and currently serves as chair. She is president of the Kershaw
County Republican Women; treasurer of the Kershaw County Republican
Party;
associate member of the Capital City Republican Women; and lifetime
member of the SC General Assembly’s Women’s Caucus. She is former
commissioner to Governor’s Campbell and Beasley; former chairman and
executive committeeman of the Kershaw County Republican Party; and
co-founder and chair of Midlands Crisis Pregnancy Center. Few has been
active in the SC TEA Party movement since its inception and has been a
featured
speaker at many state capital rallies.
Assistant to the Director, Gavin Smith
Smith is a
college student studying
International Business and Political Science and plans to attend law
school. In 2010, Smith volunteered for gubernatorial election events
for Nikki
Haley. Following Haley’s election, he worked as an intern in her
transition office and later in her Executive Office. Here he worked on
constituent services, legislative relations, and office operations.
Smith recently founded and serves as president and CEO of a non-profit
designed
for students living in financial crisis in the Midlands of South
Carolina.
Upstate Coordinator, Natalie Lennon
Lennon is a
graduate of Bob Jones University majoring in Political Science. She
worked on the Gresham Barrett campaign for South Carolina Governor in
2010,maintaining the local campaign office, recruiting volunteers and
assisting with local debates and other events. She was also a volunteer
for the
Wendy Nanney for State House campaign in 2008. Miss Lennon was a
delegate to the Greenville County GOP Convention in 2011.
Midlands Coordinator, Patsy Dabney
Dabney is a real estate agent and longtime conservative activist. She
served as campaign manager and lead volunteer for
various state house campaigns. Mrs. Dabney has been a grassroots
activist for conservative issues for over 30 years, and previously
served as a
School Board member in Alabama while her husband was serving in the US
Army.
Low Country Coordinator, Taylor Mason
Mason is a Junior
at USC-Beaufort with a strong record of campus leadership. Prior to his
position with Team Bachmann,
Mason served as chairman of the College
Republicans, secretary general of the Beaufort County Republican Party
(BCRP), and the director of youth involvement for the BCRP. In
addition,
Mason was instrumental in planning and coordinating “Rock the Vote,” a
key young voter initiative featuring state and federal candidates. In
2010, he worked with the Joe Wilson campaign, helping compile
opposition research, and organizing campaign rallies and other campaign
events.