Virginia Leadership Team
Aug 10, 2020 – As Joe Biden solidifies his lead in battleground states and President Trump’s support plummets, unemployment rises, civil unrest grows, and COVID-19 deaths increase, The Lincoln Project continues to gain momentum by announcing the first wave of leaders from the Commonwealth of Virginia. The group is composed of prominent current and former Republicans from around the commonwealth who make up the majority of the Virginia Steering Committee.
The Lincoln Project respective state leadership teams will help to promote, grow and execute the Lincoln Project mission of ensuring President Trump is defeated in November. The announcement comes as polls show former Vice President Biden with a considerable lead over the president in Virginia.
“Since being sworn into office, President Trump has failed Virginia,” said Mike Madrid, co-founder of The Lincoln Project. “Trump refused to disavow the white supremacists who marched on Charlottesville and his ineptitude in handling the COVID crisis has cost 2,274 Virginians their lives. We are thrilled to have such a diverse and experienced leadership team in Virginia to help ensure President Trump is a one-term president.”
MEMBERS AND BIOS
Bret Coulson
Bret served as a political appointee at the State Department for President Ronald Reagan, at the White House for President George H.W. Bush, and as a member of the Bush-Cheney 2000 transition team. He further served as a staffer at the U.S. House of Representatives for two decades. He has worked on behalf of GOP candidates for federal, state and local office in California, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia, including Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign in 1980 and as Ohio Governor John Kasich’s Virginia State Director in 2016. Bret has also served as a magisterial district leader for the Fairfax County Republican Committee.
Andrea Epps
Andrea Epps is a writer and senior contributor to BearingDrift, a conservative Virginia political news site. She’s also a part-time land-use consultant, full-time mother, and caregiver.
J. Douglas Holladay
Douglas Holladay served in the Reagan White House under Chief of Staff, James A. Baker, prior to being named Special Ambassador at the Department of State, leading the South African Working Group. Following his time in finance in New York, Doug has remained an active private equity investor and professor at Georgetown University in the McDonough School of Business. His recent book, Rethinking Success, published by HarperCollins, has quickly become a best-seller.
Reed Howard
Reed Howard is an ethicist, advocate for LGBTQ+ equality and racial equity, and minister. A native of Virginia Beach, Reed was a longtime member of the Virginia Beach Republican Party and served as a campaign manager and staffer for several GOP elected officials in Hampton Roads. Reed is the co-founder of Republicans for Biden, a founding member of Principles First, and will be an emcee for the Convention of Founding Principles Aug 24-27.
Kelly Kenneally
Kelly Kenneally served in the George W. Bush Administration as Deputy Director of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowship, and she has more than 20 years of public policy and communications experience.
Chris Keppler
Christopher Keppler is a global communications consultant. His career in Washington began as an advanceman for President and Mrs. Reagan during the 1984 re-election campaign. Christopher served in the State Department for President Reagan, President George H.W. Bush and President George W. Bush.
Mike Lofgren
Mike Lofgren served three decades as a Republican national security analyst in Congress. Since retiring, he wrote the New York Times bestseller, The Party is Over, followed by The Deep State. He has also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and numerous other media.
Donald “DJ” McGuire
DJ was a member of local Republican committees in Virginia for roughly two decades. He was the Republican nominee for the Lee Hill District seat on the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors in 2009, and was Lee Hill GOP Chair in 2011. He was involved in Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign in 2016. He is a senior contributor to the conservative political news site Bearing Drift and a co-host of The More Perfect Union Podcast.
Matt Walton
Matt was the 2015 Republican nominee from the 74th District of the Virginia House of Delegates. In 2015-16 he was a part of Gov. John Kasich’s presidential campaign in Virginia, leading efforts in the 7th Congressional District. Additionally, he is a contributor to BearingDrift, a conservative political news site and has also commented on U.S. and Virginia politics in various media outlets.
Bob Woody
Bob is a lawyer and private equity investor who served as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator James B. Pearson (R-Kan.), as Counsel to the Commerce Committee, U.S. Senate, as Special Counsel to the U.S. Delegation to the 33rd General Assembly of the United Nations, and as Recruiting Chairman, Lawyers for Dole-Kemp in the 1996 Presidential campaign. He has also served as a Member of the Advisory Council, Center for the Study of Values in Public Life, Harvard Divinity School.
“I am saddened and dismayed with the ineptitude, dishonesty, cruelty and utter narcissism of Donald Trump,” stated Ambassador Doug Holladay. “This election is hugely consequential as we are literally fighting for the heart and soul of America and our children.”