San Diego, Calif.- After more than 25 years of political and communications strategy, Jason Cabel Roe has confirmed to IVN that he is all but leaving politics.
Roe says he "does not plan to be active in 2020 except for Gaspar," a reference to San Diego County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, who will be on the 2020 November ballot.
The nationally recognized strategist has won numerous awards for his work on campaigns and advising candidates for President, Congress, Governor, and state and local office, including San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
Roe said his work as advisor and National Media Spokesman for Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential run acted as one of the catalysts to edge him away from the political table. "Our political conversation in this country has just become so divisive. It's poisonous for our political discourse. I decided I no longer wanted to be associated with that, so I'm largely moving away from campaign politics," Roe told a crowd at a recent event.
In addition to Rubio, Roe was Deputy Campaign Manager for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2007, and worked on the campaigns of George W. Bush in 2000 and Bob Dole in 1996.
Roe's move away from campaign politics doesn't mean he'll go quietly. As seen below, he maintains an active twitter account:
https://twitter.com/jcroe/status/1100974705216053251
San Diego Political Scene
Locally, Roe was the strategist for San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer in 2013 and 2016, winning 53% and 57% of the vote in a city with only 25% Republican registration.
"I have been disappointed a bit with our local Republican efforts," Roe quipped at a recent event. "We accomplished much and had a great plan to advance the city forward. It's been a challenge certainly."
In San Diego County, the local Republican party has been swamped by the Democrat party and NPP voters. For the last election cycle, there were 509,359 voters who registered as “no party preference” compared to 487,259 registered Republicans.
A Heavy Heart
Jason confirmed to IVN that he is heading to Michigan this week for a celebration of life for his father Jerry who passed away last year.
Jerry Roe had an impressive political career. He served as Executive Director of the Young Republican National Federation, was President of the Michigan Historical Commission, and in 1986 the Detroit News named him “Michiganian of the Year.”
Roe also engineered President Gerald Ford’s 1976 whistle stop train blitz through Michigan, helping Ford win the Michigan primary over Ronald Reagan.
Jerry Roe was 82.
