Pawlenty taps Nick Ayers as campaign manager
Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty has tapped Nick Ayers, a 28-year-old rising Republican political star, to be his presidential campaign manager, Pawlenty's exploratory committee announced in a statement Monday morning.
Ayers, the former Executive Director of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), will relocate to Minneapolis and begin work on April 25, according to Pawlenty's campaign.
"Mary and I worked alongside Nick at the RGA. He is without question one of the best political talents in America. We are very excited Nick will lead our team," Pawlenty said in a statement on Monday. "His leadership and record of winning tough races in every part of our country will provide even more momentum to our campaign to get America back on track."
Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, is so far the first top tier potential Republican candidate to have formed a presidential exploratory committee.
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Ayers helmed the RGA from 2007 until 2010. In the 2010 election cycle, Republicans gained five governorships and, as the Hill reports, the RGA saved tens of millions of dollars.
Following the 2010 election, Ayers worked with former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ed Gillespie to assist with then-incoming chair Reince Priebus' transition to the post.
Phil Musser, a top Pawlenty aide, applauded the appointment.
"Nick has proven his incredible talent in the political arena many times over," he said in a statement. "He has also long been our top choice for this job, and we are thrilled he has agreed to lead this campaign."
Ayers "will take this organization to the next level, and hopefully to the nomination of the Republican Party," he added.
Musser will continue to work as a senior adviser to Pawlenty.
