Senate President Ty Masterson has parted ways with Kansas City-based Axiom Strategies in favor of a new team of consultants who have done work for President Donald Trump.
The team is creating a social welfare nonprofit – called Take Back Kansas – that’s not required to disclose its donors.
It’s also creating a political action committee by the same name.
Masterson’s campaign did not comment, but the new team could put the Andover senator in a better position to secure Trump’s endorsement in a crowded Republican primary field.
A Trump endorsement could prove to be pivotal in the GOP primary next year just like it did in 2018, when it was widely credited with giving the nomination to Kris Kobach over then Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer.
Colyer staked out a position as a staunch campaign Trump supporter early on, endorsing him for president as early as 2023.
A nonproft social welfare group called Kansas 1st Inc. that supports Colyer also held an event celebrating the first 100 days of Trump’s second term in office.
The new Masterson team includes general consultant Ryan Smith, who runs a firm based in Tallahassee, Florida, called Rapid Loop Consulting.
The firm was founded by James Blair, the White House deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs.
Blair is no longer involved with the firm, which is now run by his former business partner.
Smith is now running Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds’ campaign for governor in Florida. Trump endorsed Donalds in that race.
The campaign’s pollster is Tony Fabrizio, who has worked as the chief pollster on five presidential campaigns, including Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns.
Fabrizio has been characterized as a longtime Trump ally who has been part of the president’s political apparatus for years.
Fabrizio was a top consultant for MAGA Inc., a super PAC that was created to get Trump elected in 2024.
At one point last year, Fabrizio moved from MAGA Inc. to the Trump campaign, where he served as a senior adviser.
The media consultant is John Brabender, chief creative officer at BrabenderCox, which was the media firm for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
BrabenderCox was paid $1.45 million for its ad work by the Trump campaign during the 2024 cycle, according to OpenSecrets.
Brabender was a longtime adviser to former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, including his presidential campaign in 2015.
Kansas political consultant Eric Pahls will be joining the Masterson team as well.
He is now a vice president for Big Dog Strategies, a national political consulting firm whose clients have included MAGA Inc.
Pahls was a top aide to Roger Marshall in his successful campaign for U.S. Senate in 2020.
He later worked on Derek Schmidt’s unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2022 and then later on his successful election campaign for Congress in 2024.
He previously worked as a spokesperson for former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina’s Unlocked Potential, which works with leaders of nonprofit organizations.
The nonprofit will be led by Chris Grant, who is the founder and chief executive officer for Big Dog Strategies and previously worked for Axiom.
Others involved with the nonprofit include David Lee, a partner with Fabrizio, Lee and Associates.
He served as the executive director and chief pollster for MAGA Inc., overseeing more than $320 million in spending.
Lee’s clients have included former U.S. Sen. and now Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.
Also joining the team is ad maker Pat McCarthy, who was credited in a 2024 Politico article with writing the ad criticizing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris for supporting taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for prisoners.
McCarthy previously worked for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp when he was reelected in 2022, defeating Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams.
McCarthy also was the media consultant for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri.
The nonprofit’s digital consultant is Tim Saler, managing partner of Grassroots Targeting where he served as the chief data consultant for the president’s 2024 campaign.
He previously worked as the deputy campaign manager for former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s campaign for president and deputy campaign manager for Rick Scott’s campaign for governor in Florida.
He also worked as deputy executive director for political strategy for the Florida Republican Party and national turnout director for the Republican National Committee.
Here is a look at the other teams that candidates for Kansas governor have lined up going into next year:
Sarnecki
Johnson County businessman Philip Sarnecki has hired OnMessage Strategies as his general consultant. The firm’s team includes Timmy Teepell, who has been an adviser to Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley.
Teepell also served as chief of staff and a top adviser to former Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Teepell has been credited with helping elect Jindal governor after he served in Congress. He also ran Jindal’s brief run for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
The firm’s team also includes Kyle Plotkin, former chief of staff to Jindal and Hawley. The Kansas City Star reported in 2021 that Hawley’s state and federal campaigns paid OnMessage more than $15 million, dating back to his successful 2016 run for attorney general, including $80,000 for its role in directing the Missouri attorney general’s staff.
Sarnecki’s campaign manager is Hunter Kelly, who worked as deputy state director and district director for Hawley. He also worked on Hawley’s 2024 reelection campaign when the senator defeated Democrat Lucas Kunce with 55.6% of the vote.
He had also worked for Hawley as deputy press secretary as well as legislative correspondent and personal aide. Kelly also worked as a staffer for Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Kelly also served as vice president of Recover America, an organization with a goal of electing Christians to public office.
Schwab
Secretary of State Scott Schwab has hired Clinton Soffer as his general consultant. Soffer worked as deputy political director of the Republican Governors Association for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 cycles.
In 2019, he was the campaign manager for Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves. The campaign raised and spent more than $14 million, had 30 professional staffers and more than 150 canvassers.
Soffer is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, with a bachelor’s in political science. During the 2024 cycle, he served as chief strategist and general consultant for Republican Congressman Troy Downing of Montana and was the direct mail vendor for Congressman Jeff Crank of Colorado.
Schwab’s media team is Jamestown Associates, a prominent Republican firm based in Philadelphia. The firm made ads for President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.
But Politico reported that the president opted not to use the firm in 2024 when one of its partners went to work for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley when she ran for president. It was reported that the firm’s president agreed to work for Haley separate from Jamestown, but the Trump campaign wouldn’t agree to that arrangement.
Two Jamestown partners, Larry Weitzner and Jason Miller, were credited with having key roles in Trump’s advertising strategy.
Politico reported that Jamestown has a long history in GOP politics. The firm worked for various Republican clients during the 2022 midterm election, including Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz, New Hampshire congressional candidate Matt Mowers and U.S. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey. The firm also has worked for former Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and current Indiana Gov. Mike Braun.
Schwab’s pollster is Guidant Polling and Stategy. The firm’s clients have included the Congressional Leadership Fund. A founding partner, Brooks Kochvar, co-led the Keystone Renewal PAC, which propelled Republican Dave McCormick to victory over Democratic incumbent Bob Casey in Pennsylvania last year. It was reported that the PAC spent more than $30 million in ads supporting McCormick.
Colyer
Gov. Jeff Colyer’s campaign team includes media consultant Corry Bliss at FP1 Strategies. Bliss is most notable in Kansas for helping U.S. Pat Roberts get reelected in 2014 against independent Greg Orman.
Bliss joined the Roberts campaign in September 2014 amid escalating concerns that Roberts could lose the campaign for the Senate.
The Roberts campaign is touted as a career highlight for Bliss on FP1’s website, saying that he turned an eight-point deficit into an 11-point victory over Orman.
During the 2018 election cycle, Bliss led the Congressional Leadership Fund and the American Action Network as executive director.
FP1 also was paid for some work it did for then-Attorney General Derek Schmidt in the 2022 governor’s race.
Eakins
Wichita businesswoman Joy Eakins has hired American Made Media as her media consultant. It was reported that American Made Media was formed by a group of former officials from President Donald Trump’s administration.
Founding partner Justin Clark was the deputy national political director of Trump’s 2016 campaign. He later worked in the Trump administration as director of the Office of Public Liaison and Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. He also served as deputy campaign manager in 2020.
Founding partner Sean Dollman worked on both the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns, and he most recently served as deputy campaign manager and chief financial officer in 2024, according to Axios.
Partner Nick Trainer was the director of battleground strategy for Trump’s reelection campaign in 2020. He also was special assistant to the president and director of regional political operations during Trump’s first term in office.
He also was director of political training for the Republican National Committee. He studied political science and history at the Univeristy of Pittsburgh.
Eakins’ pollster is Caitlin Reed at Public Opinion Strategies, notably the same firm of prominent national pollster Neil Newhouse. Public Opinion Strategies says it has conducted 249 projects in Kansas since 1991.
Reed has polled for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Congressman Gabe Evans of Colorado, Congressman Jeff Crank of Colorado and Congresswoman Celeste Maloy of Utah. She also polled on independent expenditures with the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Congressional Leadership Fund.
Reed has also polled policy issues on behalf of Americans for Prosperity and the Herald Group.
Reed has a bachelor’s in political science from American University.
Eakins also has hired Ben Davis, owner of the Cato Consulting Group, as her general consultant.
Corson
Democratic state Sen. Ethan Corson’s campaign manager is Kyla Sabado, who last ran Democratic U.S. Rep. Susie Lee’s reelection campaign in Nevada in 2024.
She also was the campaign manager for Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold in 2022. She has a bachelor’s in political science from
Corson’s media strategist is Declaration Media with offices in Washington, D.C., and Greenville, South Carolina. Politico reports that the firm was formed in 2021 as a partnership between Meredith Kelly, the former communications director for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s presidential campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; AJ Lenar, a longtime ad consultant who worked for the Democratic firm GMMB; and Trey Nix, a former campaign manager for North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper as well as the Democratic Governors Association.
The digital consultant is Rising Tide Interactive, whose clients included U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Corson’s pollster is Margie Omero from the firm GBAO, which has offices in Washington, D.C.; Wilmington, Delaware; Chicago; and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Omero has worked on successful reelection campaigns for Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers. Her other clients have included the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Leadership Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee and Emily’s List and Planned Parenthood, among others.
She’s a graduate of the University of Texas. Omero has appeared on ABC’s “This Week,” NPR’s “Morning Edition” and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” and on other major news outlets.
The mail consultant is Agency, a firm headquartered in Washington, D.C., whose clients include U.S. Rep. Davids, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Governors Association, the Democratic Leadership Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
No information has been available so far about the campaign teams for Republican Vicki Schmidt or Democrat Cindy Holscher.
