This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: Friday is the last day of work for veteran Missouri Republican Party spokesman Jonathon Prouty, who is leaving to work for prominent area GOP consultant John Hancock -- now head of a new Ohio-based political research firm that’s already become a national political player.
Hancock, 49, says he plans on swiftly growing the Strategy Group for Research into “the largest and best Republican research provider in the country.”
Currently, his new firm – only in place since January 1 – already has political and corporate clients in Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, New York and Indiana. It’s also in South Carolina, working for GOP U.S. Senate contender Teddy Turner, son of media magnate Ted Turner.
“This is by far the busiest I’ve been in the winter of an off-year,’’ Hancock said, noting that he had been in Michigan on Friday on behalf of an unnamed client. “Hence the hiring of Jon Prouty.”
“I am extremely pleased that he is joining our effort,” added Hancock, noting that Prouty had worked for him before becoming spokesman for the Missouri Republican Party four years ago.
Hancock’s new firm also has private and political clients in Missouri, who he declined to name. But his firm is believed to be involved in the 8th District congressional race, on behalf of Republican nominee Jason Smith, who’s competing against Democrat Steve Hodges in a special election June 4.
Strategy Group for Research is a new arm of Strategy Group for Media, part of the Strategy Group of Companies – a Delaware-based campaign conglomerate headed by Rex Elsass, a nationally prominent Republican consultant with close ties to social conservatives.
Elsass was tapped to help out GOP U.S. Senate nominee Todd Akin, particularly the candidate's media strategies, after Akin’s campaign imploded last August over his TV comment about “legitimate rape.”
Akin may have lost badly in November, but Elsass came out ahead. Shortly after the election, Elsass’ firm acquired various other GOP consultant firms around the Midwest. They included Hancock’s St. Louis-based company, John Hancock & Associates, which already was a prominent political consultant firm, particularly in opposition research.
(Hancock also is well known to many KMOX (1120 AM) radio listeners as half of the fill-in radio team, Hancock & Kelley. The other half is Democratic consultant Mike Kelley.)
New ties with Akin ally Elsass
“Joining up with the Strategy Groups has given us a much greater access to a national base of clients, and provided the capital resources to really expand what we were doing,’’ Hancock said. "Research was half of my business before, and now it's my sole focus."
Referring to the parent company, he added, “I think the Strategy Group is the largest Republican media shop in the country.”
Hancock detailed how the conglomerate has all the various aspects of campaign and media production, from public relations to ad production. The other arms include “Strategy Group for Phones,” “Strategy Group for Public Affairs,’’ and “Strategy Group for New Media.”
Hancock, with an early career in marketing, is a former Missouri legislator from west St. Louis County. He made two unsuccessful GOP bids for secretary of state in 1992 and 1996. He then was tapped to become executive director of the Missouri Republican Party, which he ran for several years before spinning off to become a political consultant.
Hancock’s home remains in St. Louis, and he’s shuttling weekly to Columbus, Ohio, where the various Strategy Group arms are headquartered.
Hancock has retained two of his former staff members, Kyle Reliford and John Sutter, who now work for his new firm. Hancock’s wife, Georgann, is working as his assistant.
Prouty will be joining Sutter in Columbus, while Reliford is remaining in St. Louis.
