CONVENTION DAILY

GOP Operatives: Jeff Larson

by Corine Hegland

Mon. Jul 28, 2008



LARSON: Raising the money.

CEO Of RNC Host Committee

By July 15, the Minneapolis-St. Paul 2008 Host Committee had completed its twin goals of raising a contractually mandated $39 million and signing up 10,000 volunteers for the convention. Larson, chief executive officer of the host committee, is hoping to raise an additional $19 million by September 1, at which point he plans to watch his donors and supporters enjoy the convention while he hides "from my new 1,000 best friends," he said.

Larson's first convention was in 1984, which he attended as an aide to North Dakota's governor. By 1988, he was executive director of the Delaware Republican Party, and he has attended every subsequent convention as a political operative of some sort. Currently a founding partner with political telemarketing firm FLS Connect, which has close ties to Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., Larson has been working "pretty much" full-time on the 2008 convention since December 2007.

In addition to raising money and recruiting volunteers, the host committee works with the two cities and the Committee on Arrangements to make sure they have what they need. "We help and facilitate dialogue in anything that we can be helpful with," he said. "It's been a great experience."

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