Kelly S. Eustis

From SourceWatch
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Kelly S. Eustis is an American political consultant, Republican politician, and conservative activist.

Eustis is President and Chief Executive Officer of Eusatrix Corporation, a strategic public relations and political consulting firm. Eustis also serves as Executive Director of One Nation PAC and was formerly a staff member of Our Country Deserves Better PAC - Tea Party Express.

In 2007, at the age of 19, Eustis was a candidate for a town council seat in upstate New York[1][2] and was considering a candidacy for New York's 23rd Congressional District during the 2012 election.[3]

Eusatrix Corporation

Eustis is President and Chief Executive Officer of Eusatrix Corporation, a strategic public relations and political consulting firm specializing in campaigns and issue advocacy, public affairs, and online strategy.[4] With Eusatrix, a firm he founded in 2007, Eustis has been associated with Republican political campaigns and political action committees from upstate New York to California.

Our Country Deserves Better PAC - Tea Party Express

In August 2008, Eustis joined Our Country Deserves Better PAC, a conservative political action committee based in Sacramento, California as a part of its "Stop Obama Tour"[5] to oppose the election of Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama.[6][7] The organization's mission is to defeat liberal Democratic candidates for the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate. At the time of its inception, Eustis was named eCampaign Coordinator and was its Political Director before leaving in October 2009.

Several PAC officers and staff are or were associated with Move America Forward, although Eustis was not.

While at the organization, Eustis was involved in every major initiative. In November 2008, shortly after the presidential election, the PAC created and aired television advertisements in support of former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin during Thanksgiving.[8][9] In lead up to New York's 20th Congressional District Special Election in March 2009, Our Country Deserves Better PAC spent hundreds of thousands of dollars running televison and radio advertisements in support of Republican New York State Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco against Democrat Scott Murphy for the seat vacated by Kirsten Gillibrand.[10][11] Eustis is a native of upstate New York and "oversaw Get Out the Vote efforts there".[12] In May 2009, Eustis helped the organization plan a rally against U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Obama at a Democratic fundraiser at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.[13]

Since leaving, Eustis has been an outspoken critic of Our Country Deserves Better PAC for its "Tea Party Express" national bus tours. According to an interview with POLITICO, he believes Russo Marsh + Associates, the Republican political consulting firm behind the organization, is "basically hijacking the movement for their personal and business gains without regard for real tea party activists" and the PAC is "is keeping the firm afloat."[14][15]

One Nation PAC

On October 8, 2009, Eustis filed a statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission to start One Nation PAC, a conservative political action committee, after leaving Our Country Deserves Better PAC due to "creative and personal differences".[16]

One Nation PAC, within weeks of forming, endorsed Doug Hoffman, a Republican running on the Conservative Party line, on October 23, 2009 in New York's 23rd Congressional District Special Election set for November 3, 2009. Kelly S. Eustis told the Watertown Daily Times, "Winning this seat will be the beginnings of the conservative comeback in Congress. With just one year to go until the November 2010 congressional elections, a victory will show that conservative values and strong leadership matter to the American people."[17]

The Boston Globe featured Eustis and One Nation PAC in October 2010 as a smaller, grassroots-driven political action committee who is boosting conservative candidates in Massachusetts, such as Marine Corps veteran and Republican candidate Sean Bielat challenging liberal Democratic incumbent Congressman Barney Frank in Massachusetts's 4th Congressional District.[18]

Carey, Eustis & National Defense PAC v. Federal Election Commission

In January 2011, Dan Backer, Esq. of DB Capitol Strategies PLLC filed suit against the Federal Election Commission[19] on behalf of National Defense PAC, Rear Admiral James J. Carey [Ret.], and Kelly S. Eustis "to protect the free speech rights of individuals - ensuring that Americans remain free to contribute to political groups who speak out about issues and candidates without government imposed limits."[20]

The basis for the case was Kelly Eustis wanting to give $10,000 to National Defense PAC (NDPAC) to run attack ads against Democratic Representative Anthony Wiener. Since NDPAC was a traditional PAC, not a Super PAC, Eustis could only give $5,000, the maximum acceptable contribution. Plaintiffs argued that NDPAC should not have to create a separate entity to exercise its constitutional rights.

On June 14, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia gave a preliminary injunction that sided with NDPAC so long as the PAC can "proportionately pay" its administrative costs.[21]

The Federal Election Commission conceded defeat on August 19, 2011 and entered into a stipulated judgment that grants the plaintiffs the relief they sought.[22] The suit was seen as a victory for free speech.

Possible congressional candidacy, 2012

In June 2011, Eustis was considering a candidacy for New York's 23rd Congressional District.[23]

POLITICO reported Eustis being the youngest candidate of 2012, as he would not be 25-years-old, the minimum age of assuming office in the House of Representatives, just two months before the 2012 election.[24]

Even though the two previous elections faced divisive Republican primaries, which handed electoral victory the Democratic candidate, Eustis claimed that we would not challenge the Republican Party candidate as a third party candidate, likely on the Conservative Party ballot line, if he did not win the Republican nomination during the primary.[25]

Eustis decided against running in July 2011, leaving Matt Doheny, who ran in 2010, to be the likely Republican candidate against Democratic incumbent Representative Bill Owens.[26][27]

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

References

  1. ↑ Sarah Sutton, "Student grows grass roots on net," The Post-Star, May 24, 2007
  2. ↑ Maury Thompson, "Crossing party lines; Gillibrand votes; Nader in area," The Post-Star blog "All Politics Is Local", May 12, 2007
  3. ↑ Maury Thompson, "Former Argyle resident weighing congressional run," The Post-Star blog "All Politics Is Local", June 9, 2011
  4. ↑ "Eusatrix Corporation | About", Eusatrix Corporation website, accessed December 15, 2011
  5. ↑ Maury Thompson, "Argyle young Republican on the road with "The Stop Obama Tour"," The Post-Star, October 15, 2008
  6. ↑ Ernest Luning, "'Stop Obama' bus tour rallies conservatives, drives attack ads," Colorado Independent, October 20, 2008
  7. ↑ Drew Kerr, "Locals add to election push," The Post-Star, November 4, 2008
  8. ↑ Maury Thompson, "Argyle GOP activist helping boost Palin profile," The Post-Star blog "All Politics is Local," November 12, 2008
  9. ↑ Ernest Luning, "Conservative PAC to air Thanksgiving ad thanking Palin for being Palin," The Colorado Independent, November 24, 2008
  10. ↑ Maury Thompson, "Ready or not — attack ads are coming," The Post-Star blog "All Politics is Local," February 25, 2009
  11. ↑ T.J. Raphael, "Ads getting ubiquitous in 20th Congressional race," Legislative Gazette, March 23, 2009
  12. ↑ Press Release, "Military Ballots Should Favor Tedisco," NewsBlaze, April 1, 2009
  13. ↑ Molly Ball, "Obama boost coveted," Las Vegas Review-Journal, May 26, 2009
  14. ↑ Kenneth P. Vogel, "GOP operatives crash the tea party," POLITICO, April 14, 2010
  15. ↑ Joe Conason, "How GOP consultants ripped off "tea party"," Salon.com, April 14, 2010
  16. ↑ Maury Thompson, "Former Argyle resident forms new PAC," The Post-Star blog "All Politics is Local," October 12, 2009
  17. ↑ Jude Seymour, "Monday Endorsements: David O'B. Martin, One Nation," Watertown Daily Times, October 26, 2009
  18. ↑ Farah Stockman and Donovan Slack, "Far-off, grass-roots PACs lift Mass. challengers," The Boston Globe, October 29, 2010
  19. ↑ Materials related to Carey et. al. v FEC, DB Capitol Strategies website, accessed December 15, 2011
  20. ↑ National Defense PAC Sues FEC to Secure Veterans’ First Amendment Rights, DB Capitol Strategies website, accessed December 15, 2011
  21. ↑ Molly A.K. Connors "A whole new world of campaign finance," Concord Monitor, August 7, 2011
  22. ↑ Stipulated Order and Consent Judgment, DB Capitol Strategies website, accessed December 15, 2011
  23. ↑ Brian Amaral, "Third man considers race for Congress," Watertown Daily Times, June 13, 2011
  24. ↑ David Catanese, "The youngest 2012 candidate," POLITICO, June 9, 2011
  25. ↑ Brian Amaral, "Eustis wouldn't pull a Hoffman," Watertown Daily Times, June 14, 2011
  26. ↑ Maury Thompson, "Eustis rules out Congressional run," The Post-Star blog "All Politics Is Local", July 17, 2011
  27. ↑ Brian Amaral, "Possible GOP primary challenger bows out of congressional race," Watertown Daily Times, June 16, 2011

External resources

External articles

Retrieved from "https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Kelly_S._Eustis&oldid=549629"