John Bruce "Chip" Saltsman Jr. (born March 24, 1968) is an American politician who has served as chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party from 1999 to 2001, senior political advisor to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and manager of Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign. He also worked for the Chuck Fleischmann campaign in Tennessee's 3rd district from 2009 to 2010. Saltsman also worked for Randy Boyd's unsuccessful Tennessee Gubernatorial campaign in 2018.
Early life
Saltsman was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to parents Bruce Saltsman and Edna Elaine Saltsman. He attended Father Ryan High School, a Catholic high school in Nashville, and then Christian Brothers University in Memphis, where he earned his bachelor's and master's in business administration degrees. While at Christian Brothers, Saltsman was active in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, the Knights of Columbus and student government.
Political career
Under Saltsman's watch as state party chairman in 2000, then-Governor George W. Bush defeated then-Vice President Al Gore in his home state of Tennessee.
Work with Frist
Saltsman followed this accomplishment by working as development director for Senator Frist at the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the 2002, where he helped Republicans regain control of the Senate after the defection of Senator James Jeffords handed the chamber to Democratic control in May 2001.
Saltsman then became Senior Political Advisor to Majority Leader Frist at VOLPAC, a political action committee chaired by Frist and dedicated to recruitment and support of Republican candidates for political office nationwide. In 2004, eighteen of the twenty-two races that VOLPAC supported were successful. And, in 2006, VOLPAC helped ensure the election of Senator Bob Corker over Harold Ford, Jr. in Tennessee.
Saltsman was also an important figure in Senator Frist's preparations for a potential run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and was labeled "Frist's secret weapon" by Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post and "a multi-talented superstar ... [who has] demonstrated uncanny, remarkable leadership in every endeavor he's undertaken" by Frist himself.
Huckabee presidential campaign
Saltsman was nominated by Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic as one of the top four campaign managers of the election cycle, and has since been labeled a "noted GOP strategist" with "a strong future on the national campaign-management stage."
RNC Chair candidacy
Saltsman announced his candidacy for RNC Chairman, after frequent mentions prior to announcing.
In his bid for the RNC Chairmanship, Saltsman was endorsed by: former Republican presidential candidate Governor Mike Huckabee, former United States Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Tennessee Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, and Tennessee House Majority Leader Jason Mumpower.
Saltsman dropped out one day before the voting following a controversy regarding Saltsman's distribution of a CD containing the song 'Barack the Magic Negro".
Fleischmann Congressional campaign
After incumbent U.S. Representative Zach Wamp decided to leave Congress to run for Governor of Tennessee, Saltsman became campaign manager for Chuck Fleischmann, an attorney and former talk radio host who sought the Republican nomination to succeed Wamp in the third congressional district seat. Mike Huckabee endorsed Fleischmann in March 2010. Fleischmann's biggest competition in the Republican primary was expected to come from former state GOP chairwoman Robin Smith. The U.S. House Republican whip Eric Cantor, chief deputy whip Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican Conference chairman Mike Pence and Newt Gingrich had endorsed Smith. Fleischmann won the August 5, 2010, primary, topping a field of 11 candidates with about 30% of the vote and edging out second-place finisher Robin Smith, who earned 28%.
In March 2010, Saltsman was also hired as top gubernatorial campaign consultant for South Carolina Lieutenant Gov. André Bauer. Bauer came in fourth among four candidates in the GOP primary in June 2010.
Tim James Gubernatorial Campaign
In 2008, Tim James hired Saltsman to serve as a senior advisor on his 2010 Alabama gubernatorial campaign. James ultimately came in third place in the primary and failed to make the runoff.
Randy Boyd Gubernatorial Campaign
Randy Boyd, who was previously the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, announced in March 2017 that he would be running for governor in the 2018 election. Boyd tapped Saltsman to serve as the Campaign CEO.