Mike Andrew DuHaime (born May 1974), a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

strategist and public affairs executive, is a managing director at Mercury Public Affairs, LLC, a national public affairs firm. He was the chief strategist for the successful campaign of former U.S. Attorney

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

for Governor of New Jersey in 2009. Christie unseated the incumbent, Democrat Jon Corzine, by nearly 87,000 votes (48.5% of the popular vote). He served as one of ten members of Gov. Christie's transition team and was the chairman of the authorities subcommittee. He managed Rudy Giuliani's campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. He has served as Political Director of the Republican National Committee, as Regional Political Director of President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, and as Executive Director of the New Jersey Republican State Committee. DuHaime served as Political Director of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. Political action committee, political committee that assists the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republi ...

from January 2005 to December 2006, where he became known for his ability to effectively organize on the grassroots level. He is a protégé of Republican National Chairman

Ken Mehlman Kenneth Brian Mehlman (born August 21, 1966) is an American social entrepreneur and businessman. He serves as a member, global head of public affairs, and co-head of KKR global impact at investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. He oversees the fir ...

, and Terry Nelson. As a Regional Political Director for Bush-Cheney presidential campaign in 2004, DuHaime helped develop the national "

get out the vote "Get out the vote" or "getting out the vote" (GOTV) describes efforts aimed at increasing the voter turnout in elections. In countries that do not have or enforce compulsory voting, voter turnout can be low, sometimes even below a third of the ...

" and Election Day efforts and directed the day-to-day campaign operations in 11 northeastern states, which yielded millions more votes for the President in the region and kept

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

tied up in his

Northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

base. Prior to working on the Bush campaign, DuHaime worked for Republicans at the local, state, and federal level. DuHaime advised the 2016 Chris Christie presidential campaign.

Family

DuHaime was born in 1973 and grew up in

Bloomingdale, New Jersey Bloomingdale is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,777, an increase of 121 (+0.6%) from the 2010 census count of 7,656,Passaic County Freeholder and ran for the U.S. Senate in 1996. He finished second in a three-way Republican primary, only capturing 20% of the vote and losing to Rep. Richard Zimmer. In Passaic County, he won nearly 78% of the vote. His mother, Anne DuHaime, served as the Mayor of Bloomingdale. His sister, Debbie DuHaime, is the morning traffic reporter for WABC radio in New York City and appears on the

Imus in the Morning ''Imus in the Morning'' was a long-running radio show hosted by Don Imus. The show originated on June 2, 1968, on various stations in the Western United States and Cleveland, Ohio before settling on WNBC radio in New York City in 1971. In Octobe ...

program. Michael DuHaime is married to Dore Jean Carroll, a former reporter for the

Star Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...

and has three sons, Cole, Owen, and Trevor.

College

DuHaime graduated from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

in 1995 with a B.A. in Journalism and Political science. He was also a four-year skater on the

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

Ice Hockey team where he served as a captain for championship teams his junior and senior seasons. The team played in the MCHC and did compete at the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

level.

Early career

DuHaime started in politics as a volunteer on his father's campaigns for Freeholder and U.S. Senate, and worked as an intern in the

New Jersey State Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

Majority office in Trenton. In 1997, he became the Campaign Manager for Anthony Bucco, a Republican State Assemblyman from Morris County who was challenging an incumbent Democratic State Senator in New Jersey's 25th Legislative District.((fact)) Bucco defeated Peter Mancuso, a former Mayor of Morris Township and a former New Jersey Republican State Committee Finance Chairman, in the Republican primary by a 56%-44% margin. In the General Election, Bucco defeated incumbent State Sen. Gordon MacInnes by a 55%-44% margin. Bucco won despite being heavily outspent in both races, and was the only Republican to defeat an incumbent Democratic State Senator in New Jersey from 1991 to 2007. As the Vice-President of Political Communications in 1998 for Campbell & Pusateri, a national Republican consulting firm in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, DuHaime designed paid media and mail strategies for races throughout the country, the most noteworthy of which was the open seat congressional race in Pennsylvania's 10th District, where Democrats outnumbered Republicans. DuHaime's client, the businessman Don Sherwood, assembled "a grassroots organization of 1,800 volunteers and propounding an agenda that combined small business to cut taxes" (Almanac of American Politics 2000) and won an eight-candidate field in the Republican primary with 43% of the vote. Scranton Mayor Jim Connors finished second with 23%. In the General Election, Sherwood defeated Patrick Casey, the son of popular former Governor Robert Casey, by 515 votes, 49%-48%. Recognized for his ability and success ''

Campaigns & Elections Magazine ''Campaigns & Elections'' is a trade magazine covering political campaigns, focused on tools, tactics, and techniques of the political consulting profession. The magazine was founded by Stanley Foster Reed in 1980. It is headquartered in Arling ...

'' named DuHaime a "Rising Star in American Politics" at the age of 24 in 1998, and he has taught seminars on political communication and grassroots campaigning to candidates and operatives in New Jersey and Washington. DuHaime has also spoken on grassroots politics at Harvard and Rutgers. In 1999, DuHaime returned to New Jersey to work in the District Office of Rep.

Bob Franks Robert Douglas Franks (September 21, 1951 – April 9, 2010) was an American Republican politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New Jersey. Early life Franks was born on September 21, 1951, in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of Nor ...

, a former Republican State Chairman who was in his fourth term in the

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. He also served as Executive Director of New Jersey's New Century, a political action committee chaired by Congressman Franks.

2000 campaign

Democratic U.S. Senator

Frank R. Lautenberg Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was orig ...

was retiring after three terms and Republican Governor Christine Todd Whitman was running to succeed him. But in September 1999, Whitman unexpectedly dropped out of the race and four candidates, including Bob Franks, sought the Republican Senate nomination. DuHaime became Franks' Deputy Campaign Manager. Franks won the Republican nomination after an intensive grass roots campaign, directed by DuHaime, that included several stunning upsets in pre-primary conventions for the endorsements of county organizations. In the general election, Franks lost narrowly to Democrat

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

, who spent more than $70 million of his own money to win a U.S. Senate seat. A

Quinnipiac University Polling Institute The Quinnipiac University Poll is a public opinion polling center based at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. It surveys public opinion in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, ...

poll released the day before the 2000 election showed Franks leading Corzine, 45%-43%.

Political consultant

From 2001 to 2003, DuHaime owned the

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

political consulting firm DuHaime Communications, Inc. His clients included Thomas H. Kean, Jr., who won election to his first public office in 2001 as a candidate for the New Jersey General Assembly in a Special Election. DuHaime was also the consultant for Kean's first State Senate race two years later. Another client was

Bill Baroni William E. Baroni Jr. (born December 10, 1971) is an American Republican Party politician and law professor. He represented the 14th legislative district in the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly. In 2010, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ...

, who unseated an incumbent Democratic Assemblyman in 2003. DuHaime served as Executive Director of the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Republican State Committee in 2002. The state party utilized innovative GOTV tactics that resulted in increased turnout in GOP strongholds that, for the first time in years, outpaced the turnout in Democratic areas. Doug Forrester, the Republican candidate for

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

that year, was soundly defeated by former United States Senator

Frank Lautenberg Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was ori ...

2008 presidential election

DuHaime was originally serving as campaign manager for Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign. However when

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Senator John McCain secured the Republican nomination, DuHaime became the senior advisor for Political Operations at the

. As of July 7, DuHaime was hired as political director for Sen. John McCain's unsuccessful presidential bid.

2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election

DuHaime was the lead consultant for Republican

, who was elected Governor of New Jersey in 2009. Christie defeated incumbent Governor Jon S. Corzine by nearly 100,000 votes. Christie named DuHaime as one of ten members of his transition team. DuHaime headed the transition panel for the state's independent authorities, which includes the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the

New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) is an independent authority established by the State of New Jersey in 1971 to oversee the Meadowlands Sports Complex, but which now contains the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, a regulatory ...

Gubernatorial transition

DuHaime was one of ten members of Gov.-elect Chris Christie's Transition Team and chaired the Authorities Subcommittee, which deals with the state's independent authorities and agencies.

Personal

DuHaime has been a resident of

Westfield, New Jersey Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 30,316,Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, along with Corzine's reelection campaign manager, Maggie Moran.

Trump impeachment

DuHaim said of Donald Trump's second impeachment “The longer Donald Trump stays central to the news, the better it is for Biden,” he said. “The constant reminder of Trump’s worst actions makes Biden look great by comparison, simply by acting sane.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duhaime, Michael 1974 births American campaign managers Living people New Jersey Republicans People from Bloomingdale, New Jersey People from Westfield, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni