HOUSTON – (March 27, 2017) – Two of America’s premier political consultants, David Axelrod and Karl Rove, will serve as honorary directors of the first conference of the Presidential Elections Program hosted by the Baker Institute.
Axelrod and Rove each played critical roles as chief strategists in getting the past two presidents elected and later served in the White House as senior advisers. Axelrod, a Democrat, guided the 2008 and 2012 campaigns of President Barack Obama. Rove, a Republican, guided the 2000 and 2004 campaigns of President George W. Bush.
“This is the perfect way to kick off our new Presidential Elections Program,” said Edward Djerejian, director of the Baker Institute. “David Axelrod and Karl Rove are the cream of the crop of political consultants, and I am confident that their research and analysis will provide clarity to presidential elections in our country.”
As part of the Presidential Elections Program, the two honorary directors will select a topic for research that could include a variety of subjects ranging from the effects of money on presidential campaigns to the role of the media in the electoral process. They will then help oversee research and analysis to provide voters, candidates and political parties with a better understanding of the quickly changing dynamics of presidential electoral politics.
The Presidential Elections Program will hold a conference in spring 2018 and release a policy report that summarizes the event’s major discussions and debates. There will be two conferences held within every four-year period.
The program will adhere to the institute’s policy of objective, bipartisan and comprehensive research and analysis.
