Kellyanne Conway hits campaign trail again for 2018 midterms
President Donald Trump’s fiercest defender may be turning into one of the Republican Party’s most coveted campaign assets as 2018 midterms approach.
Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president and a cable news fixture, is set to embark on a national speaking tour this spring, harnessing her newfound celebrity status to raise Republican money for 2018 midterms with events in Tennessee, North Carolina and New Hampshire.
On Wednesday, Tennessee Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn announced Conway as the special guest of a May 8th fundraiser for her re-election campaign.
Conway currently serves as a counselor to Mr. Trump but is billed as “Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign manager” on the flier posted on Blackburn’s campaign website. She was the the first successful female campaign manager of a presidential campaign.
Despite her widely-publicized mishaps, Conway remains wildly popular amongst Republicans. In public, Conway is often mobbed by fans for selfies and handshakes.
At Blackburn’s Nashville event, Conway will participate in a roundtable discussion followed by a “photo reception” and a luncheon. Tickets to the event are selling for $150 a ticket.
On May 18th, Conway will headline the New Hampshire Republican Party’s “Spring to Victory Dinner” in Nashua. Individual tickets will cost $125 and sponsorships will go for as much as $10,000.
A staffer at the state party said that Conway was an obvious invite and a “really good get.” The staffer said they sent speaking invitations to several people, but Conway was the first to reply.
And then on June 3rd, Conway will head to Wilmington, North Carolina to address a luncheon hosted by the state Republican Party. Tickets cost $70 a head.
“I aggressively pursued her and we desperately wanted her to come speak,” Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, wrote in an email. “She is very popular with Republican faithful and of course is a ‘history’ maker due to her role as the first successful POTUS female campaign manager.”
Woodhouse added that the party has seen a noticeable increase in sales since their announcement.
While Conway appears to be a force of nature on the campaign circuit, her status inside the White House has noticeably diminished since Mr. Trump took office. She continues to have walk-in privileges into the Oval Office and is one of the administration’s most famous personalities, but she has been a less visible presence on television in recent weeks.
In February, she told CNN that her White House portfolio consists of issues relating to veterans, women, children and opioid use.
