Whitaker and Baxter

Clem Whitaker and Leone Baxter were a husband-and-wife team that started Campaigns, Inc., the first political consulting firm in the United States. Based in California, the firm worked on a variety of political issues, mostly for Republican Party candidates. They both supported conservative ideals and are perhaps most famously known for preventing socialist Upton Sinclair from being elected Governor of California in the 1934 election. Together, they developed strategies and tactics - such as media advertisement buys and direct-mail campaigns - that are still widely used in today's campaigns. Their public relations work not only revolutionized politics in the modern era, but also deeply impacted political issues that remain relevant today.

Clem Whitaker was born in Tempe, Arizona, on May 1, 1899, the son of a Baptist minister. He was raised in Willits, California, where he submitted his first news story, for the Willits News, at age 13. He began working for the Sacramento Union at age 18.

Following a brief stint in the Army during World War I, Whitaker became city editor for the Union before moving to the Sacramento Examiner at age 21. He was a political writer for the Examiner until 1921, when he founded the Capitol News Bureau. His company disseminated political news to eighty newspapers statewide. While living in Sacramento, he married Harriet Reynolds. The couple had four children: Clem Jr., Milton, Patricia and Burdett.

Much less is known about Leone Baxter than Whitaker. Baxter's Social Security application lists her birthdate as November 20, 1906, in Kelso, Washington. She briefly wrote for the Portland Oregonian. However, after becoming a widow at age 28, she moved to Redding, California. There she found work promoting a water carnival for the Chamber of Commerce. Baxter became the Chamber manager in 1929.

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