Chamber of Commerce hires former Giuliani, Cruz campaign aide

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has hired a former campaign operative for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani as a political director.

Ashlee Rich Stephenson, who most recently was a principal at consulting firm WPA Intelligence, will be the vice president and political director for the U.S. Chamber’s Voter Education Program, the pro-business lobbying group announced on Wednesday.

In June, Suzanne Clark was named president of the Chamber. She was former Chamber President Thomas Donohue’s longtime top aide, and Donohue plans to stay on as CEO through June 2022. In April, Michelle Russo came on as chief communications officer, which was a newly elevated position. 

{mosads}The Chamber has also been undergoing changes recently involving rethinking its close alliance with Republicans and has taken public fire from President Trump after clashing with him over trade and other issues. It also lost its entire media relations team earlier this year, sparking concern from outsiders about the health of the organization. 

Stephenson’s role entails directing the Chamber’s voter education program, spotlighting pro-growth House and Senate candidates, and helping voters understand where those candidates stand on business issues.

“Her background working on high level campaigns and expertise in data and polling will help strengthen the Chamber’s voter outreach on pro-growth policies that will benefit consumers and workers across our nation,” Scott Reed, U.S. Chamber of Commerce chief political strategist, said in a press release. 

Stephenson was polling director for Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign, worked on the political strategy teams for Cruz’s 2016 campaign and Gov. Scott Walker’s 2016 campaign, and worked as a consultant for Sen. Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.