31 Facts About Nick Ayers

1.

James Nicholas Ayers was born on August 16,1982 and is an American political strategist and consultant who served as Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence between July 2017 and January 2019.

2.

Nick Ayers had previously served as national chairman for Pence's vice-presidential campaign in 2016, and as the former executive director of the Republican Governors Association from 2007 to 2010.

3.

In 2010, Nick Ayers was named as one of Times 40 most influential people in politics under the age of 40.

4.

Nick Ayers was principal of the lobbying firm C5 Creative Consulting, and is one of four leading figures in America First Policies, a pro-Trump nonprofit organization founded in January 2017.

5.

From November 2016 to January 2017, Nick Ayers was a senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump's transition team.

6.

Nick Ayers described himself as being rather taken with President Clinton and then-Governor Zell Miller, a Democrat, in the 1990s.

7.

Nick Ayers studied international and government affairs at the University of Surrey in Guildford, United Kingdom as a part of a study abroad program.

8.

Nick Ayers was recruited by fellow College Republican Paul Bennecke to join Perdue's campaign and serve as Perdue's "body man," taking time off from Kennesaw State University to drive and provide advance for the then-State Senator.

9.

In 2004 at age 22, Nick Ayers was named manager of Perdue's re-election committee.

10.

Nick Ayers was cited as one of the Republican Party's five "fastest rising stars in the nation" by the Atlanta Journal Constitution along with then-Louisiana Congressman Bobby Jindal.

11.

Two years later, Perdue was re-elected by a 20-point margin, with Nick Ayers having served as manager for the entire campaign.

12.

Nick Ayers himself admitted to consuming "a strong Jack and Coke", subsequently failed the field-sobriety test, and repeatedly refused to take a breathalyzer.

13.

Nick Ayers was cited for DUI; the charges were later reduced to reckless driving.

14.

When Nick Ayers began his tenure, the RGA was a relatively spartan operation with a budget of $20 million, and a low national profile.

15.

In November 2010, in the flush of RGA's victories, Nick Ayers was touted as a potential replacement for Michael Steele as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

16.

Nick Ayers's work was interpreted as a de facto endorsement of Priebus by the GOP governors, several of whom reportedly instructed their RNC members to support the insurgent.

17.

In June 2011, Nick Ayers took a five-month hiatus to serve as the campaign manager for the presidential bid of Minnesota Gov.

18.

Nick Ayers returned to gubernatorial politics in 2013, when he recruited, and served as general consultant for, Bruce Rauner and his campaign in Illinois.

19.

Nick Ayers led independent SuperPAC, Arkansas Horizon, efforts to help elect Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia to the US Senate in November 2014.

20.

In late 2014, Nick Ayers sold his interest in Target Enterprises and focused his efforts on political management and investments.

21.

When Pence abandoned his re-election campaign upon being designated as Vice-Presidential nominee, Nick Ayers served as a leading strategist for his replacement, Eric Holcomb.

22.

Nick Ayers was the first Pence operative to whom Trump's team reached out, to begin the Vice-Presidential vetting process, and handled negotiations between the Indiana Governor and Trump.

23.

Again, as after the 2010 election, Nick Ayers's name was prominently mentioned as a candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee.

24.

Nick Ayers made the final cut, with strong backing from Pence and presidential adviser Steve Bannon, but ended runner-up to Michigan's Ronna Romney McDaniel.

25.

In March 2017, BuzzFeed reported that Nick Ayers was a major investor in Independent Journal Review, a news website geared to young conservatives, with phenomenal growth in recent years.

26.

Holmsted, LLC, another private Nick Ayers firm, was founded in 2014 and invested millions in Georgia forestry and pecans.

27.

On June 29,2017, it was announced that Nick Ayers would begin serving as Vice President Mike Pence's Chief of Staff.

28.

Nick Ayers announced he would depart the Trump-Pence administration at the end of 2018, in a tweet on December 9,2018.

29.

Mrs Nick Ayers is a second cousin of former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue.

30.

Nick Ayers serves on the board of directors of Leading the Way, an international Christian ministry, headed by Michael Youssef whose estimated worth is $5 million.

31.

Nick Ayers owns farmland in Georgia worth between $2.5 million and $11 million.