Kevin Madden

Kevin Madden (born March 2, 1972) is an American pundit or public relations professional in newspapers and magazines and appears regularly on television news and talk shows, largely on cable news programming in the United States. He was a senior advisor to and spokesman for Mitt Romney's failed 2012 U.S. presidential campaign.

Professional history

After graduating from college in 1994, Madden went to work for the Yonkers City Council, working for Councilman Carlo DiNota. He soon became the spokesman for family friend John Spencer's successful 1996 Yonkers mayoral campaign. After helping Spencer win re-election, Madden moved to Washington, D.C. and, beginning in 2001, became senior policy advisor and chief spokesman for Congressman John E. Sweeney.

By the mid 2000s, Madden had had several public relations positions for Republicans in federal government, including as press secretary for House Republican leadership (including then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay In 2003, the Irish Voice described Madden's growing stature in the GOP as "further proof of the heavy influence New York Irish Americans have in the Republican party".

Madden began working for Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign in 2007, soon with the joint titles 'National Press Secretary' and 'Senior Communications Strategist'. Also discussing the 2008 campaigns, The Belfast Telegraph opined that Madden (and Matt Rhoades) "have built the most sophisticated of all the press operations... Madden, in particular, is genuinely liked and respected by the press".

The following election cycle, Kevin Madden joined Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. As Romney was securing the nomination in July 2012, ABC News described Madden as "a face of the campaign" and as "a more visible member of the candidate's campaign staff". In August 2012, Politico reported that "Romney is hardly preoccupied with his transition just yet – but...Kevin Madden, traveling spokesman on the campaign plane, would be expected to be named White House spokesman". Following Romney's 2012 loss, Madden pointed to immigration in particular as "a missed opportunity for Romney".

Between the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, Madden was hired as a Managing Director with The Glover Park Group, a public affairs firm in Washington D.C.,

Media appearances

Kevin Madden has appeared on dozens of episodes of many political discussion programs on American cable news programs. His profile at a speaker agency states: "Madden is regularly called upon to serve as a commentator on the media and politics on network news shows as well as CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNBC, Bloomberg and the BBC among others. He has also published political commentary in exclusive venues, such as the opinion sections of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal." Appearances include: Hardball with Chris Matthews, Larry King Live, Verdict with Dan Abrams, The Situation Room, Meet the Press and Morning Joe

Madden appeared in the 2008 documentary film The Return of the War Room, a sequel to The War Room, a 1993 documentary about the 1992 U.S. presidential election.

In April 2013, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Kevin Madden was being considered for the proposed relaunch of CNN's Crossfire; the program had been off the air since 2005.

Personal life

Madden alludes to his childhood in Yonkers, New York, when he describes himself as "A simple city boy – you might say a cockeyed optimist – mixed up in the high stakes game of world diplomacy and international intrigue...." U.S. News referred to Madden as "a Yankees fan" and an "Irishman"; emigrated from Ireland in the early 1960s. Madden told the Houston Chronicle that his father, an auto mechanic, read three newspapers each Sunday and enjoyed discussing news and politics; Harper's Magazine described Norris as "strikingly beautiful". Norris continued employment in a range of Congressional staff assignments until 2007.

By 2010, the couple had three sons. Several reports from Romney's 2008 campaign repeat an anecdote from November 2007, describing Madden's then twenty-month-old son "strutting about with a Blackberry, jabbering nonsense and punching away at the keys. "I was so heartbroken," [Madden] quipped... "I wanted my kid to be a football star, not a national press secretary."" Madden cites his "pro-life" identification as one reason for his affiliation as a Republican. Also in 2008, the Washington Post stated, "Madden attracts comments about his matinee-idol looks." an honor Madden himself compared with "sitting in a dunk tank for a year". Despite Madden's work for right-leaning Republicans, even those leaning left such as The Raw Story columnist and editor Megan Carpentier have opined, "There's no denying he's pretty." When Howard Kurtz asked Madden about his looks in 2008, Madden replied, "I'm married and have two boys. My wife wants to make sure I mention that more often." Also during her 2008 campaign, Erick Erickson claimed "one of the biggest pushers of anti-Palin stories...was Romney spokeshack Kevin Madden".

Footnotes