Dynamic duo of Chris Hansen and Sen. Cory Gardner Photo Credit: Hansen’s Facebook page
Chris Hansen, the behind-the-scenes strategist who led the Cory Gardner campaign to a historic upset of a sitting U.S. Senator in a purple state, now will serve as executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
This should not come as a huge surprise, as Hansen was serving as chief of staff in Gardner’s U.S. Senate office, and Gardner was just tapped to lead the NRSC heading into the 2018 mid-term elections.
At just 34 years of age, Hansen has some impressive wins already under his belt. He started working with Gardner when he successfully unseated a Democrat incumbent to win election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, and also managed Mike Coffman’s tough 2012 re-election bid before the historic win over Mark Udall in 2014.
Now Hansen is thrown into a 2018 electoral mix that features Democrats fighting to hold U.S. Senate seats in five bright red states: Montana, North Dakota, West Virginia, Indiana, and Missouri. In all, Democrats will have to defend 25 seats in 2018, while Republicans just look to defend eight.
It looks like a target rich environment for Hansen, and we know he’s up for the challenge. After all, there’s no better training ground than swing state Colorado for a politico.