Terry Nelson

Terry Nelson, a registered lobbyist, is a partner in Mercury Public Affairs, LLC&mdash;a "strategic partner" of Fleishman-Hillard International Communications and a "member agency" of Omnicom Group Inc.&mdash;and senior advisor to Republican 2008 presidential candidate Arizona Senator John McCain's Straight Talk America.

Nelson, who "has the unique distinction of being tied to two of the biggest cases of Republican campaign corruption" during the George W. Bush era, was "implicated in the infamous New Hampshire-phone jamming scandal [in 2002] and he was an unindicted coconspirator in the political money-laundering case which ended Tom DeLay's career."

In September 2006, Nelson was "enlisted" by the Republican National Committee "to run a campaign that [would] coordinate with Senate Republicans on ads that similarly will rely on the best of the worst that researchers have dug up on Democrats."

Profiles
Nelson's 2001 archived bio states that:


 * "Terry Nelson joins DMN Media after having served a tour of duty as Political Director of the National Republican Congressional Committee in the 2000 election cycle. In that capacity he devised the strategy to maintain Republican control of the House in the face of unprecedented spending by the DCCC and its allies. Nelson oversaw the committee's $45 million issue advocacy campaign, the largest non-presidential issue advertising campaign ever conducted. Previously Nelson served as the NRCC's National Field Director and as a Regional Political Director. He was also campaign manager for Congressman Jim Nussle and served as Majority Staff Director of the Iowa Senate."

Affiliations

 * Named Political Director for Bush-Cheney '04 Inc. (July 26, 2003).
 * Named Deputy Chief of Staff of Republican National Committee (RNC) (January 17, 2002).
 * Partner at Dawson McCarthy Nelson Media LLC.
 * Political Director and National Field Director for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
 * Founder and principal, Crosslink Strategy Group
 * Akerman Senterfitt
 * Working Families for Wal-Mart representative, 2006. Resigned after questionable campaign ad against Harold Ford, Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee.
 * Senior advisor for John McCain's PAC, Straight Talk America, hired in March 2006. Retained despite his firing by Wal-Mart.

Money laundering
Nelson was RNC Deputy Chief of Staff when, on or about September 11, 2002, Jim Ellis requested and proposed that contributions from the Texans for a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC) be exchanged with the RNC and the Republican National State Elections Committee (RNSEC) for contributions to "several candidates for the Texas House of Representatives that were supported by" TRMPAC.

On September 13, 2002, Ellis delivered a check from TRMPAC for $190,000 and a list with 7 "names of several candidates" to Nelson. On October 4, 2002, the RNC and RNSEC issued checks to the 7 candidates itemized on the list provided by Ellis.

"The donations to each candidate were made on the same day two weeks after Texans for a Republican Majority, created by U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, sent $190,000 in corporate money to the RNC group.

"Under state law, DeLay's political committee could not legally give corporate donations to candidates."

Accused of race-baiting in 2006 Senate race in Tennessee
In his capacity as head of the Republican National Committee's independent expenditure group, Nelson has been able to run ads uncoordinated with the candidates, which the candidates can then disavow. Such was the case in Tennessee, in an ad about Democratic candidate Harold Ford, Jr., featuring a bare-shouldered blonde female saying "I met Harold at the Playboy Party!  Harold, call me sometime."

Mr. Nelson resigned amid the questionable campaign ad, after it "sparked a pre-election dustup over racial rhetoric in the South," according to The Hill's Campaign 2006 Tipsheet

Contact information
Mercury Public Affairs LLC 1775 Eye Street NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20006 Telephone: 202 551-1450 Fax: 202 551-9966 Email: terry.nelson AT akerman.com Website: www.mercurypublicaffairs.com

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Republican 'culture of corruption'
 * U.S. congressional elections in 2006
 * Working Families for Wal-Mart

External articles

 * Press Release: "NRCC Chairman Tom Davis Applauds RNC’s Naming of Terry Nelson as Deputy Chief of Staff," NRCC.org, January 17, 2002.
 * "RNC Continues Grassroots and Outreach Efforts; Announces New Staff and Initiatives," RNC, January 17, 2002: Nelson was "named Deputy Chief of Staff and Executive Director of Political Operations" of the RNC.
 * "Remarks by Bush-Cheney '04 Political Director Terry Nelson, Republican National Committee, Waldorf Astoria, New York, NY, July 26, 2003.
 * Richard Wolffe, "In Rove's Footsteps. They learned from the master, and are applying the lessons in the hottest races ahead. Meet the architect's protégés," Newsweek (MSNBC), October 2, 2006. re Karl Rove, Scott Howell, Todd Olsen, Ken Mehlman, Sara Taylor