32 Comments - Northfielder - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 1:09 pm: Best House Republican Campaign Staffer: Jayme Odom who took over a difficult situation and thanks to hard work, keeping people on task and organization, won several house races that many had written off. She also has lived in southern, central and northern Illinois so she understands the political differences across the state and that winning in the suburbs and winning in Southern Illinois need two very different approaches. - Suburban Operative - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 1:19 pm: Best House R Campaign Staffer - This was Jamie Odom’s first cycle as the top HRO staffer, and I believe she most deserves this award. Managing that many campaigns with barely a million pledged, while also navigating the changing demographics and voting patterns caused largely by Trump (i.e. downstate pick-up and suburban holds/losses) and still maintaining to be +1 net while being outspent roughly 10-to-1. Best Senate R Campaign Staffer - Brent Ellis (staffer on the Janette Ward race). According to the A1’s, Ward’s race only had one staff (Ellis) compared to the hopeful Burress race which had two staff. Moreover, I could only imagine how difficult it must’ve been working that district with Ward’s ultra-conservative positions. It ain’t easy… - Lord of the Fries - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 1:20 pm: Best House Republican Campaign Staffer The conversation for Best House Republican Campaign Staffer should begin and end with Jayme Odom. In a year where Madigan spent an unprecedented amount so that he could pad his majority and remain speaker and a year where many were predicting a 4 seat gain for democrats to be a good year for republicans, the Republican house led by Jayme gained a seat for the republicans. It now looks like Madigan will no longer be speaker. She also set the house Rs up for next cycle as well. What she did with a minuscule budget compared to her opponents is nothing short of amazing. - Doode - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 1:22 pm: This is no slight to any other staffer in the HRO but far and away the secret weapon of their team is Erik Rayman - he’s a quiet game changer who bring relentless focus and message discipline to any campaign he touches. He is also best GOP political operative anywhere in the state at any level - you don’t want to be on the other side of a fight against this guy, ever, period. The ultimate professional. - Honest Abe's Top Hat - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 1:27 pm: Best House Republican Campaign Staffer: Jayme Odom. After the 2018 elections, Rauner’s operation essentially left HRO in shambles along with the whole ILGOP. 2020 was looking worse for Republicans than 2018 and Democrats had major advantages in money and resources. Against these great odds, Jayme came in and completely rebuilt HRO from the ground up. Her tireless work to recuirt and vet staff and candidates, raise money, keep candidates on point and message, and going the extra mile even with the pandemic allow for her results to speak for themselves. Jayme worked hard and gave the leadership HRO needed to outperform expectations. Her leadership and work is not only a big reason why House Republicans saw a small net gain of seats instead of a net loss, but also a reason why Leader Durkin was able to hold onto his leadership post. There isnt a House GOP campaign person more deserving than Jayme. - Pickups - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 1:28 pm: I realized I put in my nominations on the wrong post last week! Jonathon Nelson for the best house republican camapign staffer. He dropped everything to run a campaign 50 days out from election day and ran the most impressive HRO ground game in 2020 despite a pandemic, followed closely by the Ozinga campaign. I think the margin of victory was over 6 points. Brent Ellis for best RSSCC campaign staffer, who put in countless hours and worked his tail off to help get Jeanette Ward over the finish line. Thoughtful, professional and a good guy. - ChiSox - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 1:33 pm: Best HRO Staffer: Not a question at all this year, Jayme Odom helped start the HRO rebuild and defied all odds in a horrible year being outspent at least 8 to 1. Best SRO staffer: Brent Ellis who ran Jeanette Ward’s race in Oberweis’ old seat. She was not the preferred SGOP candidate in the primary BUT he ran a great race and it was a heck of a lot tighter than anyone thought in the suburbs. I know federal races dont get a vote but honorable mention to Matt Butcher who once again helped Rodney Davis win - this time it was not even close. - Metroeast Blues - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 1:54 pm: Best House Republican Campaign Staffer: Stephen Stewart. Even though he worked for IL Opportunity Project, this guy deserves alot credit for his hard work leading a successful field operation and picking up 2 seats for the GOP all while in college. From being outspent, challenging incumbents, and having this pandemic adding to the troubles, Steward didn’t let anything keep him down. His impressive field organization and leadership skills help to flip two seats from Democratic to GOP with Amy Elik in the 111th (first time in decades for a Republican) and David Friess in the 116th (who went from losing by 7% in 2018 to winning by 30% in 2020). These big wins deserve alot of credit to his hard work and why it wouldn’t be suprising seeing him run campaigns in the future. - Cletus Purcell - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 1:55 pm: Rich, I nominate Emily Gibbons for the Nick Bellini Golden Horseshoe award. Emily brutalized the opponent’s camp. The 112 HD was her first race and she knocked it out of the park. She got her candidate on “the plan.” She setup an amazing field program, kept the candidate on task and really, I mean really, turned the screws to the opponent. It’s hard to beat an incumbent with a big southern Illinois name, but she did just that. Honorable mention to David Kubik, not related to Jack. David was put on an island by himself in the 81st without a field office or air support. He earns a Golden mention, but not a nomination. Jon Wygant for SGOP Golden Horseshoe. Jon ran the SGOP race in the 46th District. Jon worked hard, but came up short for reasons beyond his control. - Anonymous - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 2:02 pm: Jon Wygant and Jake Ford deserve this one for the Senate Republicans. This is Jon’s third cycle with SSRCC and Jake’s second. There’s something to be said for recognizing the guys that are willing to uproot their lives every other summer and fight battles there is no guarantee can be won. They willingly took on the Burris race knowing it was an uphill climb and worked harder than anyone in the field this year. They may not have brought home a win, but they won a lot of respect among the people who know. Kyle Havers is the obvious choice for the house. This is the third cycle in a row that Kyle has fought off everything Madigan’s operation could throw at him and won. Rep/Mayor Stephens owes Kyle a huge debt of gratitude. - Budapest - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 2:02 pm: Best HRO Staffer: Jon Nelson - With a short amount of time, he took the Seth Lewis campaign across the finish line. Could have easily been a D hold. Best SGOP Staffer: Brent Ellis - Try as he may, Ward couldn’t hold off a strong Latina candidate in the suburbs. Without Ellis, this race would not have been nearly as close. H/t to Jake Ford who ran the ground game for Burress. In a heavy D district, Ford attacked and set Burress up for any next potential run. - yeah... - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 2:06 pm: Senate: Jon Wygant and Jake Ford. Ran a tough race against Sen. Koehler and acquitted themselves well. House: Kyle Haevers. I don’t think anyone else can say that they’ve defeated the Madigan operation and Marty Quinn in three consecutive elections. - Minority Mindset - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 2:07 pm: Senate Republican Staffer: Jake Ford on the Mary Burress race was the engine that kept them moving. He’s a rising star for Republicans in Illinois, and has a terrific political mind. Without he and all others involved, Burress couldn’t have come anywhere close. House Republican Staffer: Jayme Odom for the various reasons above, and the fact she picked up a seat earns her a Horseshoe. - Suburban Guy - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 2:37 pm: Kyle Haevers for best HRO staffer. This is now the second time Madigan has gone all-in on the 20th (first McAuliffe and now Stephens) and it is now the second time that Haevers has not only led a successful defense of the seat, but the second time Democrats have been drubbed there. While Madigan’s precinct captains should be right at home in the NW wards, Haevers has shown yet again that he’s a trench warfare operative totally capable of beating Madigan & Crew at their own game. - Holy Toledo - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 2:40 pm: SGOP goes to Jon Wygant/Jake Ford. Wygant gave a good showing on Fowler in 2016 with McNeely and he and Jake ran another great race in 2020 in a tough district that wasn’t ever going to be easy. - Frank talks - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 2:43 pm: House- John Nelson- a Dupage pickup for the GOP and didn’t even have a candidate until late August. Tons of money spent against Lewis in the race still pulled out a win. Senate- Jon Wygant in Koehler race. Running against a well respected and liked long term Senator definitely held their own. I tend to nominate winning campaigns tough to do on Senate R’s this year. Down to 18 but a good chunk of the team have strong campaign skills just bad candidates and tough opponents. - Butta - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 2:52 pm: House R: Jon Nelson flipped a seat from a “moderate” and brought some conservative thought back to northern Dupage. Senate R: Brent Ellis is a intellectual wunderkid who made an undesirable candidate competitive in a poor year for suburban Republicans. Deserves to be in a position of more importance within the state party. - Suburban Operative - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 2:53 pm: To clarify: I absolutely meant no disrespect to the Burress staffers in my original post. Wygant is a respectable operative, and I’m sure Ford is too. I only brought up the number of staff in my nomination of Brent Ellis because, well, more staff = more productivity —> greater chance of winning. Wygant is a solid operator for SGOP/RSSCC. Lastly, Nelson is not a House guy, he’s on a Senate R guy. - Suburban Operative - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 2:59 pm: Shoot, missed it - Nelson was Seth Lewis staffer - Lewis previously ran for the Senate twice, so I thought he was doing that one again but he ran for House this year - Anon - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 3:03 pm: Best House GOP staffer: Mike Madigan. /snark Actually Jayme Odom who turned lemons into lemonade - JG from PG - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 3:17 pm: Senate Staffer: Brent Ellis, hands down. the deck was stacked against him and his candidate, but still managed to run a solid campaign. a prolific door knocker and a highly skilled strategist, Mr. Ellis led Plummer to victory in 2018 and will likely be a major role player in the 2022 election cycle. - JP's Clippings - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 4:04 pm: Best House GOP Staffer: Dane Thull, he was 2 of 3 this cycle. He was against big money and hard charging House Dem campaigners fighting to protect two long held, loyalist seats. - Sonny - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 4:40 pm: You guys build a better case for selecting young Republican campaign go getters than you do for voting for Republican candidates. - Space Cowboy - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 5:08 pm: HGOP: Jon Nelson on Seth Lewis race. He worked tirelessly, thought outside the box, crafted an impeccable ground game and the results speak for themselves. He is a fierce yet efficient operative. So glad Seth is finally headed to the Statehouse and he had the right guy assist him in his success. SGOP: Brent Ellis. He entered a thorny situation but was able to find common ground, build relationships, and put up shining GOTV numbers as the only staffer assigned. He was basically handed a wrench and told to build a racecar out of an oil stain. He ran a heck of a machine in brutal circumstances, and that is something to crow about. - Braidwood Billy - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 5:19 pm: Senate Republkican staffe: Brent Ellis. Hardest working guy out there even for a less than stellar candidate. He should be commended for his ground work and strategy. - Antonymous - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 5:19 pm: HGOP - Jon Nelson finally got his guy in. Always runs a great race, including for Senator Curran in 2018. The SGOP’s loss is the HGOP’s gain. SGOP - Brent Ellis. Great attitude, great organizer, probably the only staffer that could have dealt with that candidate successfully. Jon Wygant and Jake Ford for honorable mention for SGOP. Worked their tails off in a tough district against a long-time incumbent. - Luke Skywalker's Co Pilot - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 6:50 pm: Best House Republican Campaign Staffer-Andy Byars. It’s hard to manage and win a Republican State Rep’s campaign in a college town like Bloomington/Normal, but Andy Byars did just that for Dan Brady while also serving as a field organizer for Congressman Rodney Davis. Andy had a nice and secure PR job before this cycle, but he gave that up to join these races that looked hard to win with one rated as a toss up. Let it be said that managing Dan Brady’s campaign in a district with ISU and managing a field office for Matt Butcher alone (all at the same time) is no easy task for any campaign operative let alone the faint of heart. Of the few people who could overcome that adversity, Andy excelled. The fact Andy outperformed expectations leading his interns to knock on every door and more during this pandemic is why Rodney Davis can boast about his campaign making over 1.5 million voter contacts this year and having the best field program in his entire congressional career. If Andy’s around for 2022, the Democrats will be in trouble.  - White Denim - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 7:33 pm: Brent Ellis is my vote for Senate GOP staff. The man is a consummate professional, drives a hard campaign, and is an outstanding individual across the board. The man was outspent 10 to 1 and brought the ultra-conservative Ward, who many thought stood no chance, within just a couple thousand votes from victory. He is a one man shop who knows the voters and the districts. He can lead a camel to water and make it drink. House GOP is Kyle Havers, for all the reasons previously stated. He has fought off the Madigan Machine time and time again and held on to a must-have seat for the House GOP once again. - Downstate Dilly - Monday, Dec 14, 20 @ 7:48 pm: SGOP - Undoubtedly Brent Ellis. This man can be reached any time during the day and will pick up and have a meaningful conversation. His strategic approach to an unfavorable candidate going up against several challenges gave Ward the best chance. Ellis is the real deal and one of the hardest working men in the game. - Minty - Tuesday, Dec 15, 20 @ 4:03 am: Kyle Havers, because not only did Stephens win against the Madigan machine, he won big. Honorable mentions to John Nelson (Lewis) and Dan Szczesny (Mazzochi) for keeping those DuPage seats in the R column for similar reasons. - Bean Dip Bob - Tuesday, Dec 15, 20 @ 9:40 am: House Republican: Jayme Odom. It’s not easy managing all of those candidates, and fighting off Madigan. She proved everyone wrong by picking up one seat when most anticipated for her to lose almost eight. She’s also humble and will give credit to the team around her. A characteristic of a good leader. Senate Republicans: Brent Ellis. I don’t think Bill Brady helped out that campaign as much as he should have (no surprise). Brent kept the race close with the limited resources. He’s a quiet operative that lets his work do the talking. Republicans are lucky to have a staffer like him. - Meechum - Tuesday, Dec 15, 20 @ 11:24 am: House: Odom picking up seats alone is amazing, toss in the spending differences and top of the ticket factors, Odom is the clear choice. SGOP has a great asset in Jake Ford. His tenacity made that a race, regardless of outcome. Takes a lot of gumption to sign onto that, and although it wasn’t a win, that seismic of a rise while campaigning in a pandemic is nothing to overlook. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.