SCOOP: Record-breaking congressional candidate rolls out campaign team filled with Trump veterans
Joe Mitchell has already broken Iowa fundraising records. Now, he's rolling out his campaign team.
A leading Republican congressional candidate ended the most recent fundraising quarter with a historic fundraising haul — and he told the Washington Reporter that he’s adding a suite of Trump-aligned advisors to keep Iowa’s 2nd District in GOP control.
Joe Mitchell, an alum of the Trump administration and the founder of Run Gen Z — an organization dedicated to helping young Republicans like him run for office — raised a historic $400,000 in his first quarter as a congressional candidate, which is the most ever for a non-incumbent congressional candidate in Iowa history.
Now, Mitchell has his senior campaign team in place — and he’s bringing in heavy hitters who have long track records of winning in both Iowa and across the country for Republicans like President Donald Trump.
Mike Thom, the former Political Director of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), will be Mitchell’s General Consultant and FP1 Strategies’s Annie Kelly Kuhle will lead media strategy.
Mitchell is also bringing on Big Dog Strategies to serve as his mail vendor; the firm recently served as senior advisors to MAGA Inc. — the main super PAC backing Trump. He also retained Tim Saler to serve as data and modeling lead; Saler was the Chief Data Consultant for Trump’s 2024 Iowa caucus and general election campaign.
Fabrizio, Lee & Associates — pollsters for both Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns and numerous Senate and gubernatorial races — will conduct polling for Mitchell.
Mitchell, a former state legislator, property developer, and lifelong Iowan, is also leaning on local talent, like Alli Brecher, who has broken a series of fundraising records, to serve as his Finance Consultant.
“We’re not taking anything for granted, and it’s why I hired a winning team and plan to outwork and outraise every candidate in this race,” Mitchell said. “Iowa is going to be competitive in 2026, and radical Democrats will make a serious attempt to win seats up and down the ballot. Despite these headwinds, we are prepared to be successful on June 2nd and then in the general election in November.”