Herbert Weston Scott Howell III is an American entrepreneur and political media consultant whose client list includes former

President George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, Senate Majority Whip John Thune - SD, US Senator Lindsey Graham, SC, US Senator Mike Rounds, SD and Gov Kristi Noem, SD. Other notable clients included Meg Whitman and

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

Personal

Married in 1994, he and his wife Julie reside in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and have two children.

Career

In a 2006 interview, Howell discussed his early career in some detail. Recruited by Lee Atwater to work for the

RNC RNC may refer to: Technology and sciences *Radio Network Controller, a governing element of a mobile phone network *Ribosome-nascent chain complex, in biology *Romanian National R&D Computer Network, registry for the .ro top-level domain * file ex ...

after his 1988 work for presidential candidate

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his te ...

, Howell spent four years as a campaign operative before moving to Texas in 1992 to work for

Karl Rove Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on August 3 ...

, then running a direct-mail firm. In 1993, Howell started his own political advertising consulting firm Scott Howell & Company. As of December 2020, SHC maintains a political presence but today is a more diversified with emphasis VR, Digital and other areas. See GrooveJones.com; PushDigital.com; FrothyBeardBrewing; Scott Howell and Company.Cris Cillizza, "Insider Interview: Scott Howell -- GOP Imagemaker," Washington Post, February 13, 2006 http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/02/insider_interview_scott_howell.html In 2004 he was part of the Bush/Cheney'04 strategy team producing ads for President Bush's successful reelection. Howell has played a major role electing more than 20 US Senators and his campaign experience spans more than 40 states. Successful United States Senate campaigns for

Republicans 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 ...

include: * Jerry Moran of Kansas who defeated fellow Congressman Todd Tiahrt in a hotly contested primary in 2010 * John Thune of South Dakota, who defeated incumbent Senator Minority Leader

Tom Daschle Thomas Andrew Daschle ( ; born December 9, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he became U.S. Senate Minority Leader in 1995 an ...

* Tom Coburn of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, who defeated Brad Carson * Bob Corker of Tennessee, who defeated

Harold Ford, Jr. Harold Eugene Ford Jr. (born May 11, 1970) is an American financial managing director, pundit, author, and former U.S. Congressman who served from 1997–2007 in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party ...

* Jim DeMint of South Carolina who defeated Inez Tennenbaum. * Three senate campaigns for Lindsey Graham of South Carolina including the most expensive US Senate race in history in 2020. Other notables races: * Saxby Chambliss of Georgia * Jim Talent of Missouri * Norm Coleman of Minnesota in 2002 *

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Republican, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. Se ...

of Wisconsin in 2016 * Kristi Noem the first female governor of South Dakota in 2018 Howell has also been involved in more than a hundred congressional, legislative, judicial and issue campaigns. Noteworthy corporate clients have included American Airlines, Texas Rangers Baseball Club, the Dallas Cowboys and the Oil and Gas Industry. Failed clients have included: * George Allen, a United States Senator defeated in 2006 by Jim Webb * Jerry Kilgore, defeated in 2005 by Tim Kaine in Virginia governor's race *

who withdrew from the 2008 presidential primary season. * Norm Coleman of Minnesota in 2008 who lost his reelection in a controversial recount after winning on election day.

Notable campaigns

2020 South Carolina Senate Race

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2002 Georgia Senate Race

In 2002, Howell's client Saxby Chambliss defeated incumbent Senator Max Cleland. Supporters of Cleland blamed a Chambliss TV ad featuring the likenesses of

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

and Saddam Hussein, while criticizing Cleland's votes against homeland security measures. The ad, which Cleland supporters claimed questioned the senator's patriotism,Slate.com: The Democrats' favorite victim
was removed after protests from prominent politicians including Republicans like

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

and Chuck Hagel. Chambliss supporters claimed the ad didn't question Cleland's patriotism, but rather his judgment. Although these ads are frequently mentioned as examples of work by Scott Howell, Howell has repeatedly denied that he produced this particular ad.Grant Perry, "Rudy - Call Me," Yahoo News - opinion column, August 25, 2007
/ref>

2006 Tennessee Senate Race

In October 2006, Howell was revealed as the producer, with Terry Nelson, of the "Harold, Call Me" attack ad used against democratic Tennessee Senatorial candidate Rep. Harold Ford Jr. in which a white woman said that she had met Ford at a Playboy party. The ad concludes with the woman speaking to the camera and saying to Ford "Call me." Coverage of the controversy characterized Howell as a "protégé" of

.David Miller, "Pure Horserace: Rove's Mixed Legacy: Bush's Political Guru Rewrote The Electoral Playbook, But Couldn't Implement Policies," CBS News August 13, 2007 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/13/politics/purehorserace/main3162644.shtml

References

External links

*
2002 contributions by Scott Howell and Julie Howell to Oklahoma campaign of Republican Tom Jeffrey Cole

2006 contribution by Julie Howell to "Friends of George Allen - Republican"

"In Rove's Footsteps, They Learned From The Master," "Newsweek," October 2, 2006CBS News/AP, "Rove protégé Behind Racy Tennessee Ad," October 26, 2006

Scott Howell & Company
American political consultants Living people Texas Republicans Year of birth missing (living people) {{Improve categories, date=July 2021