An Ohio-based political consulting firm that at least one competitor likened to a “cult” has set up shop in New Jersey this election season, working in the 2nd Legislative district.
The firm, Strategy Group for Media, has become a go-to firm for conservative candidates of late and was the subject of a recent BuzzFeed article detailing the firm’s rise, its owner’s strong religious ties and the strife that is roiling it from within.
John Hancock, the firm’s opposition research specialist, is working for Republican Frank Balles, the Atlantic County Sheriff vying to unseat Democrat Jim Whelan in LD2.
The firm’s religious leanings, its tightly knit group of employees and owner Rex Elsass’s penchant for rewarding employees with the use of expensive cars and homes and rides on the company jet has caused some in the consulting community to call them “cult like.”
“They’ve got a reputation in the consulting world,” one consultant told PolitickerNJ, adding that they’re moving into the state because they need to “pay for the jet fuel and Bentleys.”
The firm has in recent years become the consultant of choice for the conservative and Tea Party movement in Congress, along the way helping to elect as many as 40 congressional representatives, including U.S. Rep. and former presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus.
But its rolodex of A-list clients has at times gotten the firm in hot
Another consultant said the firm received negative attention last year as the consultant to Rep. Todd Akin, who famously opined on the possibilities of pregnancy resulting from “legitimate rape.”
“People thought they were responsible for keeping Akin in the race when there was a push to get him out.”
Reached by email Tuesday, new President Rick Tyler denied that the firm talked Akin into staying in the race. The decision was Akin’s alone, Tyler said.
“He made the decision himself and was determined to stay in the race,” Tyler said. “The Strategy Group for Media did not abandon him as I guess so many would have. Candidates will make mistakes. What is commendable about The Strategy Group for Media is that they stuck with Todd to the end. That to me was the best reason for joining SGM. I wanted to work for a company like that. I think candidates want a company like that too.”
Former President Nick Everhart was at the center of the firm’s internal struggles after he was fired and then sued for an alleged coup attempt on Elsass.
Asked about the rift between Everhart, a one-time protégé of Elsass and his boss, Tyler said there is no internal strife at the company because “the internal strife was fired.”
Competitors are bound to attack Strategy Group because they are good, Tyler said, and Elsass “is one of the best strategic minds in the country.”
Asked about allegations that the firm is a cult, Tyler, once a staffer for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, laughed.
“I didn’t realize praying constituted a cult. I didn’t realize believing in something bigger than yourself constituted a cult. I didn’t realize Christianity was a cult.”
