Andrew Smith, who oversaw Virginia Gov. Terry R. McAuliffe’s record-shattering $40 million campaign fundraising operation, has joined McGuireWoods Consulting LLC as vice president for MWCAdvocacy and National and Multi-State Strategies.
Smith, with nearly a decade of experience in politics and public policy, will serve on McGuireWoods’ National/Multi-State Strategies team led by Democratic former South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges and Republican former Virginia Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore. The team provides strategic advice to clients with needs across the country, focusing particularly on matters involving the nation’s governors and attorneys general. Smith will work with Hodges’ team helping clients with issues at the Democratic Governors Association.
“Andrew’s extensive experience working on high-level policy and political issues with major Democratic figures across the country makes him a perfect fit for our national and multi-state strategies group. We have significantly increased our capabilities with the addition of Andrew,” Hodges said.
As part of his work with the MWCAdvocacy – the communications, grassroots and digital arm of McGuireWoods Consulting – Smith will focus on building a fundraising component for coalitions involved in large public affairs initiatives for McGuireWoods’ clients.
“I’m excited to have Andrew and his skills as we expand our offerings and depth on high profile issue campaigns for our public affairs clients,” said Stephen A. Horton, the senior vice president and director of MWCAdvocacy. Horton was a senior aide to Republican former Gov. Jim Gilmore of Virginia.
Under Smith, McAuliffe’s fundraising in last fall’s Virginia gubernatorial race surpassed both candidates’ 2009 fundraising totals.
Smith was deputy director for Mid-Atlantic fundraising for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election bid. He had previously worked for U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., and was part of the fundraising team for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Smith, a Chicago native, lives in Washington and is a 2006 Georgetown University graduate.