Carl Forti

Carl Forti is a former communications director at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) who worked for Republican Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign team.

Forti currently works for the right-wing advocacy and campaign group Freedom's Watch. In March 2008 Chris Cillizza commented in his blog on Washington Post website that "Forti's hiring should quiet some nerves among Republican strategists who saw Freedom's Watch as largely without a clear mission with just eight months until the 2008 general election. The departure of former president Bradley Blakeman earlier this month was a clear sign of the discontent among donors and others affiliated with the group. (The group has not yet filled Blakeman's vacancy.)" Carl Forti's

After Freedom's Watch shut down in December of 2008, it created a loophole creating manipulations of the campaign finance law. During the 2008 election, the organization ran a series of political ads attacking Louisiana Democratic House candidate Don Cazayoux. Organizations like Freedom's Watch typically revealed the donors behind such ads with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC's three Republican commissioners ruled that outside-spending groups don't have to reveal their donors unless donors earmark their contributions for certain ads.

In 2010, Forti developed a plan to go around FEC guidelines by using Black Rock Group, a strategic communications firm he co-founded. However, the FEC rejected his approach. Forti ultimately decided to move on and help establish Restore Our Future, a pro-Mitt Romney Super-Pac that raised $12 million dollars in the first half of 2011.

Biographical Information
Biographical information provided at a 2002 conference states, "Originally from Rochester, New York, Carl Forti joined the NRCC in May 1999 as deputy communications director. Mr. Forti serves as chief spokesperson for the NRCC and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Communications Department. He also works with individual campaigns to develop and implement communications strategy. Mr. Forti also serves as the issue advocacy director for the NRCC. Prior to joining the NRCC, Mr. Forti served as the director of political media operations for Wilson Grand Communications, a Republican media/general consulting firm. At Wilson Grand, he was responsible for all facets of media planning, including: writing, directing, production management, producing and editing; as well as developing campaign and fundraising plans. He has worked on over 50 campaigns across the country at all levels from county council to governor to U.S. Senate."

Mitt Romney Presidential Campaigns
Carl Forti joined Mitt Romney's presidential campaign as political director in 2008. In 2011 he helped Romney launch his super-PAC, Restore Our Future.

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Freedom's Watch
 * Mitt Romney/campaign team
 * Strategic Media Services
 * Don Cazayoux