Kasich Campaign Press Release - Kasich for America Announces Tennessee Team

Kasich for America today announced the formation of its Tennessee Leadership Team. Former Chairman and CEO of Saks Incorporated, R. Brad Martin from Memphis, will serve as State Chair, with Nashville communications consultant John Crisp of Nashville serving as State Coordinator for the campaign.

In addition, the campaign announced a number of other top GOP leaders from across the state who will help lead the Kasich campaign in Tennessee.

"Governor Kasich is the complete package," said Martin, a past chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, who also served five terms as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives. "He understands how to work with the private sector, not against it, to promote job creation and create opportunities for millions of people. He has the foreign policy chops and the executive experience to make our country safer. I look forward to sharing his ideas with voters here in my home state."

Martin is now Chairman of RBM Ventures, and he served as the former Interim President of the University of Memphis. Crisp, who was a former top aide to U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, runs a communications company in Nashville, and he helped coordinate the Mitt Romney for President campaign in the state in 2012.

"America needs a president who is battle-tested and ready to lead on Day One. I have no doubt that Governor John Kasich is the best candidate for the job. Not only did he pass the first balanced budget at the federal level in a generation, he has cut taxes, created jobs and completely turned things around for Ohio—now he we need him to do the same thing for the nation," Crisp said.

"I am grateful to Brad Martin, John Crisp and the entire team for hitting the ground running in Tennessee," said Governor Kasich. "Their combined experience in public service and in the private sector will be an incredible asset as we work to build momentum and spread our message to voters in the Volunteer State."

Other top Tennessee leaders named by the Kasich campaign to its State Leadership Team today include:

Steve Buttry – well-known business leader, lobbyist, and a former State Representative from Knoxville;

B.C. "Scooter" Clippard from Nashville – a top business and civic leader and longtime GOP activist and fundraiser in Tennessee, Clippard served as the national finance chair for the Fred Thompson for President campaign in 2008;

Kemp Conrad – a top business and civic leader in Shelby County, Conrad was recently elected Chairman of the Memphis City Council;

Dick Grayson — former mayor of Johnson County, TN, and local civic and community leader in Mountain City, TN;

Bryan Kaegi — Nashville healthcare executive, longtime TN GOP activist and fundraising consultant for Governor Bill Haslam, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, Congressmen Phil Roe and Chuck Fleischmann, and the Mitt Romney for President campaign in 2012;

Lisa Janke from Vonore — a top business and civic leader in Southeast Tennessee, Janke is a longtime GOP donor and activist, and a former GOP Statesman of the Year in Tennessee's 3rd congressional district;

Lora Jobe from Memphis – a member of the Tennessee GOP State Executive Committee, Jobe is a well-known community and civic leader and serves as the Executive Director of the PeopleFirst Partnership in Memphis; she is a past president of Memphis City School Board; and served as the former West TN Field Representative for U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander;

Justin Joy from Memphis — a leading attorney and the immediate past chair of the Shelby County Republican Party;

Robert Schwartz – a Nashville business executive and longtime GOP activist, Schwartz served as the Tennessee executive director for the Newt Gingrich for President campaign in 2012, and was the founder of Music Row for McCain in 2008.

Steve West — a top business and civic leader and longtime GOP activist in the Greater Knoxville area, West is the former mayor of Maryville, TN.