Ed Rollins

Ed Rollins (born March 19, 1943) is a Republican campaign consultant and advisor who has worked on a number of high profile political campaigns in the United States. Most recently, he worked for the campaign of United States Representative Katherine Harris for the U.S. Senate. According to a Wall Street Journal article, the two had a falling-out, with Rollins not attending a staff meeting in Tampa and quitting a few days later after he questioned the viability of her campaign. He is currently managing the campaign of Republican New York State Senate contender Kathleen Troia "KT" McFarland.

Rollins worked as the campaign manager for Christine Todd Whitman in her 1993 New Jersey gubernatorial race. After organizing a campaign that led to Whitman's come from behind victory, Rollins claimed to Time magazine that he secretly paid black ministers and democratic campaign workers in order to suppress voter turnout. "We went into black churches and we basically said to ministers who had endorsed Florio, 'Do you have a special project?' And they said, 'We've already endorsed Florio.' We said, 'That's fine, don't get up on the Sunday pulpit and preach. We know you've endorsed him, but don't get up there and say it's your moral obligation that you go on Tuesday to vote for Jim Florio.'" After public outcry and calls for an investigation Rollins partially retracted some of these claims telling People magazine that his comments were "an exaggeration that turned out to be inaccurate."

Rollins was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

External links

• Biography details at SourceWatch
• Biography details at NNDB

References

• The Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2006: "Katherine Harris Battles Old Friends For Florida's Keys"