Angle beefs up consulting team

Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle has hired the firm BrabenderCox to handle media for her campaign against Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

The firm is headed by John Brabender, a longtime consultant to former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Brabender also worked former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Brabender was a lead strategist on Santorum’s first race for Senate in 1994. It’s actually a challenge that bears some resemblance to what Angle currently faces in Nevada.

In his race against Democrat Harris Wofford, Santorum’s conservatism was the focus of relentless attack. Santorum’s counterattack focused attention on an unpopular president and the issue of healthcare. Santorum tied Wofford to President Bill Clinton, whose approval rating was hovering in the 40s, deriding the president as a big-government liberal with plans to nationalize the country’s healthcare system. On Election Day, Santorum won a tight race, 49-47.