Name Charles Black, Role Consultant | Education University of Florida | |
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Occupation Chairman of Prime Policy Group | ||
Charles R. Black Jr. (born 1947), is the current Chairman of Prime Policy Group, a public affairs firm associated with Burson-Marsteller, which he founded as Black, Manafort and Stone in 1980. In 2010, he was inducted to the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) Hall of Fame.
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Black also worked for Ronald Reagan's three Presidential campaigns in 1976, 1980 and 1984 and was a senior political adviser to the 1992 re-election campaign of George H.W. Bush. He served as chief campaign adviser for Senator John McCain in the 2008 Presidential election. More recently, Black worked as an informal adviser to Governor Mitt Romney's Presidential campaign during the 2012 Presidential election. Recently, Black worked as a campaign advisor for Governor John Kasich in the 2016 Presidential election.
Education
Black earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Florida in 1969 and a JD from American University's law school in 1974.
Political career
Black says that he fell in love in politics when he worked on the presidential campaign of Republican Barry Goldwater as a high school student in 1964.
In 1972, he was a campaign worker in the first senatorial campaign of Jesse Helms running against Harvey Gantt.
Black co-founded the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC) with Terry Dolan and Roger Stone.
Black went on to work for a succession of Republican presidential campaigns from 1976 to 1992, including those of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. His first hire on the Reagan campaign was Lee Atwater, whom he met during the course of his work with the Republican National Committee in 1972. Later Black served as the National Spokesperson for the RNC. He re-emerged as an adviser to George W. Bush's campaigns in 2000 and 2004 and often quoted as White House spokesperson. He has been described as an "iconic Republican operative."
Lobbying activity
Prime Policy Group is the result of the merger of two lobby firms in Washington in 2010, BKSH & Associates Worldwide and Timmons and Company.
Prime Policy Group represents large companies, trade and industry associations, foreign governments, state governments and municipalities, including Airbus and Google.
Family
Black has two children. His daughter, Kerin Black, is also involved in politics, currently serving as Vice Chair of Democrats Abroad Germany.
His niece, Elizabeth Black, was the Station Manager at University of North Florida's Spinnaker Radio, WSKR-LP (95.5 FM). Currently, she is a freelance writer.