George Gorton

Last updated

George Gorton (March 30, 1947 - May 11, 2022 [1] ) was an American Republican Party political consultant from California. He helped lead national political campaigns in Russia, Panama, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Canada and the United States.

His involvement in Boris Yeltsin's reelection campaign, along with his partners Joe Shumate and Dick Dresner, was the subject of a ten-page cover story in Time magazine, [2] and a major motion picture ( Spinning Boris ) where George, the central figure in the movie, is played by Jeff Goldblum. [3]

Gorton served on the national campaign teams of Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He managed all of Governor Pete Wilson's successful gubernatorial and US Senate races. [4] He was the first political consultant hired by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2000 and was the chief strategist for his campaign for governor in 2003. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Wilson</span> Governor of California from 1991 to 1999

Peter Barton Wilson is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1983 to 1991 and as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the 29th mayor of San Diego from 1971 to 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boris Akunin</span> Russian writer

Boris Akunin is the pen name of Grigori Chkhartishvili, a Russian-Georgian writer. He is best known as writer of detective and historical fiction. He is also an essayist and literary translator. Grigory Chkhartishvili has also written under pen names Anatoly Brusnikin, Anna Borisova, and Akunin-Chkhartishvili. His characters include Erast Fandorin, Nicholas Fandorin and Sister Pelagia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Trippi</span> American political strategist (born 1956)

Joseph Paul Trippi is an American political strategist. A member of the Democratic Party, Trippi most notably served as campaign manager of Howard Dean's 2004 presidential bid, and has served as a political commentator for CNN since 2018. He has worked on a number of prominent gubernatorial and United States Senate campaigns, including the successful bids of Jerry Brown for Governor of California and Doug Jones for U.S. Senate in Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slade Gorton</span> American politician (1928–2020)

Thomas Slade Gorton III was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Washington from 1981 to 1987 and again from 1989 until 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he held both of the state's U.S. Senate seats in his career and was narrowly defeated for reelection twice, first in 1986 by Brock Adams and again in 2000 by Maria Cantwell following a recount, becoming the last Republican senator to date for each seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 Russian presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Russia on 16 June 1996, with a second round being held on 3 July. It resulted in a victory for the incumbent President of Russia Boris Yeltsin, who ran as an independent politician. Yeltsin defeated Communist challenger Gennady Zyuganov in the run-off, receiving 54.4% of the vote. Yeltsin's second inauguration ceremony took place on 9 August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Shrum</span> American journalist

Robert M. "Bob" Shrum is the director of the Center for the Political Future and the Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics at the University of Southern California, where he is a professor of political science in the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He is a former American political consultant, who has worked on numerous Democratic campaigns, including as senior advisor to the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004 and to the Gore-Lieberman campaign in 2000. Shrum wrote the famous speech Ted Kennedy gave at the 1980 Democratic National Convention conceding to and supporting President Jimmy Carter. He has been described as "the most sought-after consultant in the Democratic Party." Shrum served as speechwriter to New York Mayor John V. Lindsay from 1970 to 1971, speechwriter to Senator George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign and speechwriter and press secretary to Senator Edward M. Kennedy from 1980 to 1984 and political consultant until 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konstantin Titov</span> Russian politician

Konstantin Alekseyevich Titov is a Russian politician. He was the Senator from Samara Oblast from 2007 to 2014 and Governor of Samara Oblast from 1991 till 2007.

<i>Spinning Boris</i> 2003 American film

Spinning Boris is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Jeff Goldblum, Anthony LaPaglia and Liev Schreiber. In the film, Boris Yeltsin secretly hires three American consultants during his 1996 reelection campaign, when his approval rating was at 6%. With the help of the consultants, Yeltsin won the election six months later. The film claimed to be based on the true story of three American political consultants who worked for the successful reelection campaign of Boris Yeltsin in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatyana Yumasheva</span> Russian politician

Tatyana Borisovna Yumasheva is the younger daughter of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Naina Yeltsina. Since 2009, Yumasheva has been a citizen of Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Podrabinek</span> Soviet-Russian human rights activist and journalist

Alexander Pinkhosovich Podrabinek is a Soviet dissident, journalist and commentator. During the Soviet period he was a human rights activist, being exiled, then imprisoned in a corrective-labour colony, for publication of his book Punitive Medicine in Russian and in English.

Semibankirschina, or seven bankers, was a group of seven powerful Russian business oligarchs who played an important role in the political and economical life of Russia between 1996 and 2000. In spite of internal conflicts, the group worked together in order to re-elect President Boris Yeltsin in 1996, and thereafter to successfully manipulate him and his political environment from behind the scenes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Party of Growth</span> Political party in Russia

Party of Growth is a liberal-conservative political party in Russia with representatives in several local legislatures. Created in March 2016 on the basis of the Right Cause party, the party's main policy stances are liberal free market economy, democracy and protecting the rights of the middle class. The party has been led by Boris Titov since its founding. The party is a member of the pro-Putin All-Russia People's Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boris Yeltsin</span> President of Russia from 1991 to 1999

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the first president of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1961 to 1990. He later stood as a political independent, during which time he was viewed as being ideologically aligned with liberalism and Russian nationalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 San Diego mayoral election</span> Election

The 2000 San Diego mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000 to elect the mayor for San Diego. Incumbent mayor Susan Golding was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 San Diego mayoral election</span> Election

The 1996 San Diego mayoral election was held on Tuesday, March 26, 1996, to elect the mayor for San Diego. Incumbent mayor Susan Golding stood for reelection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 San Diego mayoral election</span> Election in California

The 1984 San Diego mayoral election was held on November 6, 1984 to elect the mayor for San Diego. Incumbent mayor Roger Hedgecock stood for reelection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 San Diego mayoral election</span> Election

The 1979 San Diego mayoral election was held on September 18, 1979 to elect the mayor for San Diego. Incumbent Pete Wilson stood for reelection for a third term. As the result of a voter-approved amendment to the City Charter to align mayoral elections with state elections, the winner of the election stood to receive an extended five-year term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1975 San Diego mayoral election</span> Election

The 1975 San Diego mayoral election was held on September 16, 1975 to elect the mayor for San Diego. Incumbent Pete Wilson stood for reelection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boris Yeltsin 1996 presidential campaign</span>

The Boris Yeltsin presidential campaign, 1996 was the reelection campaign of Russian President Boris Yeltsin in the 1996 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 San Diego mayoral election</span> 2020 United States mayoral election

The 2020 San Diego mayoral election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the Mayor of San Diego. Incumbent Kevin Faulconer was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits.

References

  1. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/obituaries/story/2022-06-01/george-gorton-obit
  2. Kramer, Michael (July 15, 1996). "Rescuing Boris". Time . Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  3. "The Americans in Moscow: How to Spin a Russian Election". New York Times. March 13, 2004. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  4. Wallace, Amy (October 12, 1994). "The Mystic Behind Wilson's Mystique - Politics: Adviser met with guru before agreeing to run reelection bid". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  5. Bennett, Kelly (June 23, 2008). "From San Diego to Moscow: George Gorton's Strange and Wild Assignments (part 1)". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  6. Bennett, Kelly (June 23, 2008). "From San Diego to Moscow: George Gorton's Strange and Wild Assignments (part 2)". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved March 11, 2023.