Rick Davis

Richard H. Davis Jr. (born 1957) is an American political consultant. He previously served as a partner and chief operating officer of Pegasus Capital Advisors L.P., a private equity firm specializing in sustainable development projects. He was a managing partner of the business development and public affairs consulting firm Davis-Manafort, located in Alexandria, Virginia. He was the national campaign manager of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign (from July 11, 2007, to November 4, 2008 ). In that capacity, he oversaw the development and implementation of all campaign strategy and policy development. Davis also served McCain as national campaign manager for his 2000 presidential campaign (April 6, 1999 to March 9, 2000).

Career Born to a Navy family, Davis studied at the University of Alabama. After learning the campaign business in Alabama and Mississippi, he became national field director for the College Republican National Committee during Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential bid. promoting pro-Russian policies with regard to Ukraine.

Davis serves on the Council on American Politics, which brings leaders from the forefront of today's political and communications arena together to address issues facing the growth and enrichment of GW's Graduate School of Political Management.

Domestic political experience 1976 Chairman, Alabama College Republicans. 1979 Staff member, Republican National Committee. 1980 Regional Director, Commitment ’80 Reagan/Bush Campaign. 1982 Campaign Manager, Paul Trible’s successful US Senate campaign. 1984 National Convention Director, Reagan/Bush Re-Election Campaign. 1988 Presidential Debate Coordinator, Bush/Quayle 1988 Presidential Campaign. 1996 Deputy Campaign Manager, 1996 Presidential Campaign of Senator Bob Dole.

International political experience In addition to political campaigns in the United States, Davis has extensive experience as an international political consultant in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Through his firm, Davis Manafort Inc., he has coordinated Presidential, Parliamentary, Gubernatorial and Referendum campaigns in over a dozen countries. His activities also include developing and implementing democracy building campaigns in foreign countries.

2000 Presidential campaign Davis served as Manafort's deputy in orchestrating the 1996 Republican National Convention; both would later join Bob Dole's presidential team. While working for Dole, Davis told a reporter that he was "blown away" by McCain's unconventional politics. He joined McCain's first election bid in 1999, as campaign manager.

Homeownership Alliance In 2000, Davis became the head of a group called the Homeownership Alliance, a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac advocacy group. Its website said that the organization was dedicated to "exposing and defeating trends that would harm consumer access to the lowest-cost mortgage option." He was head of the group for five years, being paid more than $30,000 per month. At the end of 2005, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac decided that Homeownership Alliance had outlived its usefulness, and it was closed.

Reform Institute When McCain started the Reform Institute in 2001 to promote campaign finance reform, he involved Davis. In 2002, Davis was paid $120,000 as an institute consultant; in 2003, he was paid $110,000 in fees. In 2004 and 2005, when he was president of the non-profit institute, his salary totaled $165,000. Tax forms said he worked five hours a week or "as needed."

Payments In 2006, Davis and Manafort formed the company 3eDC, an Internet firm, which the McCain campaign selected to oversee the campaign's Web site and online fund raising. The company was paid $340,000 before the contract's cancellation in April 2007; in mid-June, the campaign reported that it still owed the company $721,000. In all, the McCain campaign paid $971,860 to the company. This complaint was found to have no cause and dismissed by the FEC in June 2009.

In April 2008, after McCain became the presumptive Republican nominee, 3eDC was paid $20,000 by the Republican National Committee (RNC). In June 2008, the RNC and 3eDC were negotiating a larger contract that could be worth $2 million or $3 million. On September 28, Newsweek reported that Davis had joined the campaign in January 2007, not in 2006, and that he specified that his $20,000-a-month salary be paid directly to Davis Manafort.

The Times reported that "No one at Davis Manafort other than Mr. Davis was involved in efforts on Freddie Mac’s behalf, the people familiar with the arrangement said." The only thing that Freddie Mac officials could recall Davis doing for the company, the Times said, was speaking at an October 2006 forum attended by midlevel and senior executives who contributed to Freddie PAC, the company's political action committee.

Involvement with Oleg Deripaska In 2005, Davis and his business partner, political consultant Paul J. Manafort, pitched a plan to Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska under which they would influence news coverage, business dealings, and politics in the former Soviet Union, Europe, and the United States "to benefit President Vladimir Putin's government." They eventually signed a $10 million contract that started in 2006, and maintained a business relationship until at least 2009.

In January 2006, Davis arranged a meeting between McCain, Senator Saxby Chambliss, Senator John Sununu, and Deripaska at a private apartment near Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum. Deripaska's suspected links to anti-democratic and organized crime figures are so controversial that the U.S. government revoked his entry visa in 2006.

Later that month, Deripaska wrote to Davis and Manafort to thank them for arranging the meeting. "Thank you so much for setting up everything in Klosters so spectacularly," he wrote. "It was very interesting to meet Senators McCain, Chambliss and Sununu in such an intimate setting."

DHL In 2003, Davis and his lobbying firm were hired by German logistic company DHL and Airborne Express, to lobby Congress to approve a merger between the two firms. DHL Holdings was eventually successful in acquiring Airborne Express.

McCain and Davis have come under attack by the AFL-CIO for facilitating the deal, as DHL is now planning to quit using the Wilmington, Ohio freight airport as a hub. The airport and package-sorting facility in Wilmington was previously owned by Airborne Express. The move by DHL would cost an estimated 8,000 jobs at the Wilmington air park. At the time of the merger, the deal created an estimated 1,000 jobs for the Wilmington area.

Fictional portrayals Davis was portrayed by Peter MacNicol in the 2012 HBO film Game Change.