Buzzfeed highlights “23 People Who Will Be Running Washington Next Year,” placing an emphasis on “young, tech savvy operatives. Among them is Marco Rubio aide Todd Harris.
Harris, 41, has a résumé that reads like a who’s-who list of the Republican Party, with Sen. John McCain, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush among his former bosses. But it’s his current gig, as a senior adviser to Rubio that has propelled both Harris — and Rubio with him — into the upper echelon of national Republican politics.
Alex Conant, who worked as Tim Pawlenty’s press secretary on the campaign trail before joining Rubio’s office roughly one year ago calls Harris “amongst the most respected operatives I’ve ever worked with.” “He’s very good at taking the long view and not getting sucked into any one media storm of the moment,” Conant said.
Rubio’s office has faced its share of media storms, even during the past year: The questions about his parent’s immigration story; the potential that Rubio might be picked as Mitt Romney’s running mate; this week, an interview with GQ Magazine in which Rubio said he doesn’t know how old the earth is. But to those stories and others, Conant said, Harris brought “a level head.”
