Meet the leader of GOPAC - David Avella.

[00:00:11] Welcome back to another episode of The Political Life. Today, we come to you with David Avella from GOPAC. I like to say that he runs GOPAC, but Maggie would say that he's the chairman and CEO, Jim, give his proper title. We're really excited to have him on. He's a friend of, and Maggie knows him. With that, I am going to hand it off to Maggie to kick off the interview.

[00:00:42] Thank you, Jim. Happy New Year to you both. I think this is our first conversation of 2025. And I think it's a timely one because Republicans and conservatives had quite the 2024. So we're here to talk about the good work that GOPAC did last year and also what it entails for the next election cycle. I know David's already thinking that, thinking along those lines.

[00:01:08] But before we jump into the actual work, let's learn a little bit more about you, David. What was your first political job? How did you get the fever? Tell us how it all began.

[00:01:24] For me, it started in high school when then Governor Arch Moore in West Virginia came to my high school, Hedgesville High School. And it was in thinking about his remarks that it came to me that governors do things. Governors have an impact. Governors make a difference in people's lives to make them safer, easier and better.

[00:01:48] And it was inspiring. And to me, this is a good way to dedicate my career.

[00:01:56] And from there, I was working on campaigns. I ran for the statehouse when I was 22 years old, lost. Best thing that ever happened to me. And then went on and worked in other campaigns. Started a campaign consulting firm and ended up at GOPAC. This is now my 16th year. I'm proof if you stay somewhere long enough, you can make it to the top. Just go to work every day.

[00:02:24] So you were in high school in West Virginia, I believe. And that was when West Virginia was deep, deep blue. It was one of the last states to turn Republican during that wave in the 2000s or 2010s, I guess. How did you come to conservative principles or ideals and kind of an environment that maybe bred future Democrats?

[00:02:50] As so much of my generation, it was Ronald Reagan, who was as much of an impact as anyone on my view of the role of government and how to make people's lives more prosperous.

[00:03:07] And then there's the practical side, to your point about far more Democrats than Republicans. When we had the voter registration lines at our high school to prepare for the upcoming elections, I thought, well, there's a long line to register to be a Democrat. There's a short line to register to be a Republican. I think I'll just register to be a Republican. Efficiency, the Republican.

[00:03:32] Efficiency, that's exactly right. But I say that in jest. It was primarily Ronald Reagan. But then as I learned more and more, Jack Kemp and his free market capitalism ideas and the message that he shared with folks, both of those together.

[00:03:53] And then as I started out with Archmore and his ability to show me that politics is a way to have an impact in this world. And it was exciting.

[00:04:08] So whenever you're introducing the very distinguished leaders that are on your board or involved with GOPAC, you often lead with like two things that you would get from a bio and maybe one thing that you wouldn't, which I've always appreciated in your presentation style. Well, you're chairman and CEO of your chairman and CEO of your chairman and CEO of GOPAC. You're from West Virginia. What is one thing that our audience with whom may not know you or maybe some that do? What's one thing that you could share that isn't in the bio?

[00:04:38] Oh, that's a great question. Something you wouldn't know about me from reading my bio. Well, I had the shortest tenure of any political director at the Republican Governors Association in that I was hired right before 9-11. And then, of course, the tragic events that happened there.

[00:05:04] And a few days later, Governor Ridge became Homeland Security secretary, was no longer chairman of RGA and a new team wanted their folks. And so I think I had like a four or five day stretch. I like to say that I didn't lose any gubernatorial races or win any gubernatorial races during my time. We stayed status quo. That is a unique part of the David Abella history. Jim?

[00:05:34] Well, I'd be interested in hearing post-election. You know, you're having Washington as, you know, Republicans are controlling all the House, the Senate and the White House. What are you spending your time doing post-election now that you've had such a successful cycle? Well, the elections, believe it or not, Jim, aren't over.

[00:05:58] As President Trump has taken members of Congress with him or seeking to take members with him to his administration, now open seats occur. And one of our GOPAC-involved legislators, Randy Fine, is now running for Congress. Of course, if Senator Fine wins that congressional seat, now his Senate seat opens, which probably someone in the State House runs for,

[00:06:24] which then opens a State House seat, and you have that ripple effect across the country. And even with other races where maybe a state senator ran for judgeship or commissioner, and now there's special elections. So it is that special election season shaping up. And then you have, you know, even in unfortunately tragic situations where in Minnesota, a state senator has passed away.

[00:06:50] And so that opens up a seat in Michigan, where, quite frankly, if you're looking at consequential ones, Michigan State Senate, you have a state senator who has been elected to Congress in a very competitive district. That if Republicans were to win, now you see the Michigan Senate go into a tie.

[00:07:09] So you have these special elections that are occurring all over or developing all over the country that we have to, at GOPAC, be prepared for, should it be a situation like Michigan where majority control would be at play. And then we're also keeping an eye on just the, where legislative sessions are heading, what issues folks are going to be working on,

[00:07:36] so that as we prepare our workshops and our educational programming, that we're getting to legislators, speakers, to share ideas, to help them with doing their job. And so it's just as busy now, believe it or not, as it was before the election. Yeah, no, I'm sure it is.

[00:08:00] And then so you spend more time coming into the summer months and the conferences on the education side? That's right. And it seems like the election cycle, actually, after hearing your answer, almost never ends. There is, well, and not only do you have the special elections, Virginia and New Jersey elect their legislatures in the off-numbered years, the odd-numbered years.

[00:08:26] And in Virginia, the state house is in play, where Republicans very well could gain a house majority. And so the need to keep our election operation going never ends. And as we're thinking about the educational stuff, I like to, Maggie has heard this, we're kind of the TED talk of the GOP, in that we like to bring in interesting speakers to share ideas with Republican leaders.

[00:08:54] And somebody in Virginia may say, that's a great idea. Let's go champion that in Virginia. And somebody in West Virginia may say, that's a terrible idea. We're not going to do that. And so the leaders will decide what issues or what ideas they might want to take back to their state. But at GOPAC, we're the platform for bringing those leaders together to not only hear from speakers, but also to interact with one another.

[00:09:20] And an idea that someone in Texas may have already tackled, someone in Oklahoma may say, hey, how did you do that? And we see that at conference after conference, where it's these sharing ideas and trading best practices that truly have put GOPAC as a trusted resource of state leaders and federal leaders. I would be remiss if I didn't note that six more GOPAC alumni got elected to Congress this year.

[00:09:49] And before we know it, we're going to have a GOPAC caucus in Congress once again. So looking ahead to the start of sessions, I guess today we've got four kicking off today. What do you think are the top three conservative public policy priorities that you'll see trend-wise throughout the states? To your point, Virginia may not think that what they're doing in West Virginia is a good idea or vice versa.

[00:10:18] But in general, what do you think will be those big driving conversations? Sure. All indications are that tax reform will continue to be at the top of the agenda for state Republican-led, state legislatures across the country. I mean, you even see it with Iowa and Louisiana working to move to a flatter tax.

[00:10:41] States still looking to move to become joining Florida and Texas and Tennessee and those that have no income tax. So tax reform will still be at the top. I often remark that if Republicans, we can't agree on lowering taxes, it's time to tear up the charter and start over. So you'll see Republicans focused on that. How do we increase energy production? How do we bring energy costs down?

[00:11:10] I mean, the reality is, is that much of the Republican mandate is centered on the daily cost of living. And the fact is, until we bring energy costs down, we won't be able to bring the cost of everyday living. Not only is energy more expensive, but the cost to produce things is more expensive. The cost to get product across the country is more expensive with higher energy costs. And so you'll see Republicans focused on that.

[00:11:38] And then whether it be for the border states dealing with immigration or, and even in the border states, you'll see a focus on tougher penalties and making sure that laws are being enforced. And then I'll give you a fourth one that Republicans majorities would be wise to champion. And that is the efforts of cybersecurity.

[00:12:05] Particularly as it relates to state governments and making sure that the systems that are in place, the operations that are in place are secure from cyber attacks. I mean, tragically, we hear more and more about how bad actors are tapping into our data systems and tapping into and creating cyber attacks on not only state governments, but also federal governments.

[00:12:33] I mean, we just learned recently that Chinese hackers got into many of the telecom companies. We hear every so often or unfortunately every few months where a state agency or a federal agency has been hacked into.

[00:12:50] And so it would be in Republicans' interest and in serving their constituents to make sure that as they're crafting state budgets, they're putting in what's needed to protect against cyber attacks. So the new leadership coming into all of these states, we've got a number of new Senate presidents and speakers being installed this month.

[00:13:20] Arkansas, West Virginia, North Carolina, Florida. Any that have been super engaged with GOPAC or that folks should keep their eye on as just really inspirational new leaders? Oh, Maggie, you're making me, I'm going to forget somebody. But, you know, Destin Hall was an emerging leader for GOPAC. He'll be the new speaker in North Carolina. Garland Gudger, who will be the new Senate president pro tem down in Alabama, is a GOPAC emerging leader.

[00:13:48] Danny Perez, the speaker in Florida, very impressive, a GOPAC emerging leader. Alex Riley, the Missouri majority leader in the Senate or House. I'm sorry, is a GOPAC emerging leader. And so I know I'm forgetting folks. And I apologize to any listening that say, hey, you didn't mention me.

[00:14:09] But to your point, we're fortunate to be able to have that role in the GOP of helping develop leaders and watching them and being part of their moving up and having a bigger impact in their states as their careers and the roles they serve in move on. One more leader question.

[00:14:37] So President-elect Trump brought along so many young people and widened his coalition. Do you think that the coalition build can stay? Are people being attracted to the conservative message? This economy matches populism. Or do you think it's just a Trump effect?

[00:15:01] It is an impact of folks want to go in a different direction than what they have seen coming out of the current administration. And it gives Republicans a few months, but a few months to get real results done.

[00:15:18] Because if not us, as I would argue, you look at the last few elections, the one certainty has been if those in charge haven't delivered in the federal level, voters will make a change. Whether that be they change the White House, they change who controls the House, they can change who controls the Senate. You're going to get change. And it is why we as Republicans federally have to deliver, but also at the state level, we have to deliver.

[00:15:48] And voters are much more holding their elected officials accountable. And we have to deliver. Now, to your point about this coalition, I would offer to you, we are still in an expansion stage in this coalition. If you factor in that we had two Florida state legislators right before Christmas switch from Democrat to Republican. And these weren't in safely Republican districts. One was in the swing area of Tampa.

[00:16:18] The other was down around Palm Beach, a historically Democratic district. And then just in the last couple of days in the Pittsburgh area, you had a prosecuting attorney who switched from Democrat to Republican. And that is, as Democrats see, some Democrat elected officials see where their party is now, where they think it's going.

[00:16:44] They say we're more aligned with and want to be in a position to get things done. I should be with the GOP. And that's why you're saying those are just three examples. But you go around the country, you find other examples where it is Democratic elected officials who are moving over to the GOP. So, Maggie, you want to close us out with your closing questions? Sure.

[00:17:11] Well, and David's a true road warrior. Yes. We always ask two questions for our guests who travel around the country. First, where were you last, whether for Christmas or for work? And what was the best meal you had or best restaurant that you went to? And where are you headed to next? So if someone wants to reach out on LinkedIn and make a friend, they can give you a restaurant tip. Oh, wonderful. That's a great, great question.

[00:17:38] Well, I just spent a few days unhooked out in Arizona in Scottsdale. And then we went on to some friend's house and did some horseback riding and did some hiking. And Arizona is a wonderful time. It's a wonderful time of the year to be in Arizona. That nice, crisp morning, but yet a very beautiful, sunny sky. Best meal I had. Wow. Wow. I've had a lot of good meals.

[00:18:07] I'm not one for missing meals. I tell the GOPAC team all the time, I'll mislead them, not intentionally on things, but I will never mislead them on food. You know, there's a really good, I go back to the trip I just had in Arizona. There's a restaurant out there, Dominic's Steakhouse, which was wonderful. I'm not even a big steak eater, but enjoyed that. That said, anytime I can get a good Italian meal, Maggie, I'm always for having a little pasta.

[00:18:36] And there's lots of good places around the country for that. Where are you headed to next? How am I headed to next? Kentucky, coming to you. Oh, that's right. You told me that. We are coming down for our annual fundraiser distribution event. And I say distribution event. We do an annual fundraiser with a barrel pick from Maker's Mark.

[00:18:58] And we then, for those who participate in the event, we have a follow-up, which is coming up here next week, where we all get together and give everybody their case of Maker's Mark that we as a group all work together to make. So it's a fun event. We've done it for a couple years now. Of course, those who are bourbon fans or know about the Maker's Mark experience, you know, it's a contest. You break up into teams and you do.

[00:19:27] It's a really fun experience. And the winning team is whose juice goes in the barrel, back in the barrel. And now we all get our six bottles, one case of Maker's Mark to take home next week. That's what I would – I've always reflected that from all the years of going to all these meetings and knowing all these folks that travel so much, I've never seen someone leave a GOPAC meeting in a bad mood.

[00:19:54] You really do have fun events with fun lawmakers who are eager to get together and learn from each other but also have a good time. Thank you. I appreciate that. Well, it's always a pleasure to chat and hopefully we see you soon in Kentucky and elsewhere and wishing you all the best for 2025 and congratulations on a very successful 2024. Thank you. Have a great year. Thank you, David. Bye-bye.