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Gubernatorial campaign manager hired

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Darrin Schmitz, former executive director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, will now serve as the manager of the McCallum for Governor campaign.

Schmitz, who accepted the position Tuesday night and will start the job next week, is taking a temporary leave of absence from the Republican Party and is expected to return after the election in November.

“We are very excited for Darrin. He will do an excellent job getting Scott McCallum elected,” party chairman Rick Grabber said. “We’re sorry to see Darrin leave the Republican Party of Wisconsin, even temporarily, but look forward to watching him put his skills to good use in the final months of this important campaign.”

Schmitz, who is unavailable for comment until early next week, coordinated the Wisconsin presidential campaign of George W. Bush in 2000 and was the press secretary for former Gov. Tommy Thompson.

“Darrin has done a great job strengthening the Republican grassroots while at RPW,” Graber said. “He will bring that same agenda to the McCallum for Governor campaign and stay focused on spreading [governor] McCallum’s message of lower taxes, better-paying jobs and improving education.”

Steve Lyons, who joined the campaign as its manager only a few weeks ago, resigned from the job. Before working on the campaign, Lyons worked in the governor’s office.

Lyons is the third senior McCallum aide to resign recently — only 200 days before the November primaries.

Over the weekend, the husband-and-wife team of campaign consultant Brian Christianson and fund-raiser Dana Grigoroff resigned. Their resignations came just days after McCallum fired his chief of staff, Mike Rogowski.

Gov. Scott McCallum said in a release that he is “thrilled” to have Schmitz join the campaign.

“Darrin brings a lot of strength to the campaign. He’s dynamic, articulate, politically savvy and a skilled coalition-builder,” McCallum said. “He distinguished himself in legislative races throughout the state, on Tommy’s 1998 campaign, the 2000 Bush campaign and he has done a tremendous job as state party executive director. We’re thrilled to have him on board.”

Schmitz is expected to raise the profile of the campaign. “Gov. McCallum has the right message and vision for the future of Wisconsin, and I’m excited about the opportunity to help deliver that message to the voters,” Schmitz said in a release.