Jesse Benton
| Jesse Benton | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Born |
Jesse Reeves Benton October 4, 1977 Philadelphia |
| Residence | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Alma mater | Mary Washington College |
| Occupation | Political consultant |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Valori Pyeatt |
| Children | 1 |
Jesse Reeves Benton (born October 4, 1977) is a political operative known for working with conservative and libertarian organizations such as Americans for Tax Reform, the Liberty Coalition, and the American Conservative Union. Benton is strongly associated with the Paul family, serving as a high-ranking staffer for both Ron Paul and Rand Paul. He is married to Ron Paul's granddaughter.
Benton served as the campaign manager of Republican Mitch McConnell, until resigning on August 29, 2014 amid a scandal surrounding bribery allegations during the 2012 presidential election. On August 5, 2015, Benton was indicted by a federal grand jury for felony charges arising from an alleged coverup Benton and colleagues conducted to conceal their expenditure of campaign money to buy the endorsement of an Iowa politician.
Benton's political career began in 2000 when he worked with the Republican National Committee. Benton has been involved with various political candidates and organizations, including the American Conservative Union, Americans for Tax Reform, the Liberty Coalition, the Performance Institute, and Louisiana Senator David Vitter. Benton opened his own political firm, CIC solutions, working mostly in Pennsylvania and Virginia. In 2007, Benton became involved with Ron Paul's 2008 presidential candidacy. Benton started out as a volunteer, being attracted by Paul's message on spending, civil liberties, and foreign policy, but eventually became Paul's communications director. After the end of Ron Paul's 2008 campaign, Benton joined the Campaign for Liberty, a political organization founded by Ron Paul to advocate for his political message.
In 2010, Benton served as Rand Paul's campaign manager when Paul was elected Senator of Kentucky. Benton simultaneously served as Ron Paul's political director. Rand Paul had never run for office before, and was seen as an underdog. Benton and Rand Paul became close, with the two speaking nearly every day and Benton moving into Paul's basement. Rand Paul's ultimately victorious campaign was praised for its use of the internet fundraising and recruiting, and Paul's ability to knock off a more established candidate was described by a Republican strategist as establishing a new norm for Republican primaries. After Rand Paul's election, Benton worked on Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign. During the campaign, Benton urged Paul's delegates at the 2012 Republican National Convention to act with "decorum and respect." Although Paul was not nominated, Benton praised Paul's followers for helping to elect Paul supporters to positions of leadership within the GOP.
...
Wikipedia