The Washington Post features KSU alum Nick Ayers
Republican Governors’ Association chief cited as leader in party’s strategy to take…
Georgia
(Apr 28, 2010) — Republican Governors’ Association chief cited as leader in party’s strategy to take
back White House
Kennesaw, Ga. (April 28, 2010) – Republican Governors' Association Executive Director Nick Ayers’ Cobb County and
Kennesaw State University roots are prominently featured in an April 27 article in
The Washington Post about his role in revitalizing the organization and elevating its status in national
party politics.
The article describes Ayers, 27, as a “leading player in the GOP's plan to use the
momentum of statewide victories in 2010 to knock President Obama out of office in
2012.” It credits him with transforming “the creaky [RGA] into a tight ship that has
attracted Republican money bundlers disillusioned with Michael Steele's Republican
National Committee and its spending sprees.”
Ayers, a 2009 KSU graduate, assumed leadership of the Washington, D.C.-based RGA in
2007, after helping in 2002 to elect Sonny Perdue Georgia’s first GOP governor since
reconstruction and quickly rising in the state’s party leadership as a result.
A south Cobb native, Ayers enrolled at KSU in 2000 but left as a freshman to join
the Perdue campaign. As a student, Ayers spent most of his time building the university’s
chapter of College Republicans. He completed his degree in 2009 by taking weekend
and evening courses.
As the article by Washington Post staff writer Jason Horowitz notes, Ayers, then a 19-year-old freshman, approached
KSU political science professor Kerwin Swint about joining his senior-level campaigns
and elections class.
"He doesn't necessarily have to crack a book … I refer to him as the natural," Swint
said in the article.
Looking back, it was plain to see that Ayers had a tremendous political future ahead
of him, says Swint, who also is a political analyst and author of "Mudslingers: The
25 Dirtiest Political Campaigns of All Time" and a biography of Roger Ailes, political
operative and Fox News founder.
“Nick is a great example of what talent and hard work can achieve,” Swint said. “He
just sort of came out of nowhere, but he was a very talented guy who quickly made
an impact in the state and is now doing so on the national level. All of us at KSU
are very proud of him.”
Ayers is also featured in the spring edition of KSU Magazine due out next month.
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Kennesaw State University is the third-largest university in Georgia, offering more
than 70 graduate and undergraduate degrees, including doctorates in education, business
and nursing and a new Ph.D. in international conflict management. A member of the
35-unit University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State is a comprehensive, residential
institution with a growing population of more than 22,300 students from 142 countries.
A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its nearly 43,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
