Some of Donald Trump’s most loyal aides and outspoken supporters are looking to ride his revolution into elected office themselves.

A number of Trump acolytes are mounting campaigns using the same populist blueprint that catapulted the billionaire businessman into the White House.


The newest entrant is Alan Cobb, who was director of national coalitions for Trump and worked on his transition. He said in a phone interview that he would formally announce his bid for an open Kansas congressional seat later this week during an appearance in Wichita.

The president will be front and center. Cobb, who turned down a White House job to run in the upcoming special election, plans to cast himself as a Trump loyalist — a candidate with close ties to the new administration who embraces its outsider approach.

“I would wholeheartedly support the Trump agenda,” said Cobb, who spent Tuesday morning meeting with Republicans in Medicine Lodge, a town in the south-central part of the state. “It’s all consistent with what’s best for the 4th District.”

As Trump takes up residence in the White House, his disciples hope his success can be replicated far and wide.

“Given the success of President Trump’s change message and insurgent campaign, I believe we will see several prominent Trump supporters take on the establishment, too,” said Tony Fabrizio, a Trump pollster.

Getty / PayPal co-founder and billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel, right, who served on President Donald Trump’s transition team, is considering a campaign for governor in California.

Cobb isn’t the only former Trump aide about to announce a bid for Congress. Bruce LeVell, who was Trump’s diversity coordinator and a frequent surrogate on TV, is poised to launch a bid for a suburban Atlanta congressional seat.

What distinguishes him from the large group of other Republicans interested in running, he said, is simple: His unwavering support for the president.

“I’d like to see someone in that seat who’s a champion of Trump’s policies,” said LeVell, who recently wrapped up a trip to Washington, where he was meeting with operatives could staff his campaign. “I’d like to be that champion.”

LeVell said he planned to model his campaign after the new president, presenting himself as a political outsider. That means no donations from lobbyists, he said, among other things.

Virginia Republican Corey Stewart, who was Trump’s state chairman, has already begun to campaign for governor. Last week, he began airing a TV ad that borrowed heavily from Trump’s campaign playbook. It describes Stewart as an “outspoken blue-county conservative who keeps beating liberals again and again,” and says he has the “experience to win.” It highlights his “zero tolerance” for undocumented immigrants. And it promises to “take back Virginia” from Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s “crooked liberal gang.” (Using a word Trump often used to describe Hillary Clinton.)

Even Stewart’s mannerisms — there’s lots of hand gesturing — are Trump-like.

“The fact that Trump won the White House means that other aspiring politicians will follow, and they will follow in terms of his policy positions, and in terms of his style,” he said.

Jeff DeWit, the Trump campaign’s chief operating officer, has spent weeks deliberating whether to launch a primary campaign against GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. | Getty

In California, Peter Thiel, the PayPal co-founder and billionaire entrepreneur who served on Trump’s transition team, is considering a campaign for governor, according to several people privy to his thinking. Most Republicans are skeptical that Thiel will run — he's a fiercely private person — though they say his ability to self-fund would make him an attractive candidate.

Perhaps the most intense speculation surrounding an ex-Trump hand is in Arizona. Jeff DeWit, the Trump campaign’s chief operating officer, has spent weeks deliberating whether to launch a primary campaign against GOP Sen. Jeff Flake, who frequently criticized Trump during the 2016 race.

One person familiar with DeWit’s thinking said he is leaning against running and is more likely to take a job in the administration. If that were to occur, attention could turn to the state party chairman, Robert Graham, as a potential Flake foe. While many party leaders shied away from supporting Trump during the campaign, Graham distinguished himself as a loyal and outspoken surrogate — which did not go unnoticed in Trump Tower.

Other Trump loyalists are seeking local office. Dane Maxwell, who directed the campaign in Mississippi, is running for mayor of Pascagoula, a city of 26,000 in the southeastern corner of the state. Maxwell said it makes perfect sense that Trump’s former advisers are running on their own, considering the presidential campaign was predicated on engaging people new to politics.

“He’s taught us to get involved more, and that momentum will build nationwide,” Maxwell said.

Trump has already demonstrated a willingness to endorse in Republican-on-Republican skirmishes, raising the specter that he could play hardball in races where his political allies are running.

“I wouldn’t be surprised given the importance of loyalty to the president, if he endorsed several of their candidacies,” said Fabrizio.

Alan Cobb was director of national coalitions for President Donald Trump and worked on his transition. | AP Photo

Earlier this month, Trump — in a highly unusual step for a president-elect — personally phoned members of the Ohio Republican Party to advocate for his favored candidate for state GOP chair, Jane Timken, who raised money for his campaign. Timken went on to dislodge the incumbent chairman, Matt Borges, who had been a vocal Trump critic.

Then, last week, on the eve of Inauguration Day, two of Trump’s top aides, Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon, sent a letter announcing their endorsement of Ron Weiser, a major party donor, in the race for Michigan GOP chair. Both Weiser and his opponent, Scott Hagerstrom, had worked for Trump — Weiser as a fundraiser, and Hagerstrom as his state director. Over the weekend, just after the letter was released, Hagerstrom withdrew.

Cobb, a 51-year-old first-time candidate who cut his teeth working for the Koch brothers political network, has already caught the eye of the administration, which may hint at future support.

“So happy to see @TeamTrump's @albobcobb looking @ #Kansas #CD4. Cobb would be a great Congressman- w/ the #TrumpTrain from the beginning,” Dan Scavino, White House director of social media, tweeted last week.

Winning Trump’s backing will be harder for Stewart. In October, he protested outside the Republican National Committee headquarters because he was incensed that some establishment Republicans pulled their support for Trump after the release of the Access Hollywood tape. Stewart was fired for the move, and many of those in the president’s circle do not feel positively about him. In December, two Trump aides, Mike Rubino and Mark Lloyd, went on a Virginia radio show to outline their complaints.

Virginia Republican Corey Stewart, who was President Donald Trump’s state chairman, has already begun to campaign for governor. | AP Photo

Of course, running as a Trump copy-cat may be easier said than done. The billionaire businessman and ex-reality TV star is a singular figure, and his unique set of attributes produced one of the biggest presidential upsets ever.

“What they miss is that Trump had built up tremendous brand equity after 14 years on the hit show ‘Apprentice,’ and had unparalleled access to media,” said Chris Ruddy, a Trump friend who is chief executive of Newsmax, a conservative website. “That is not easy to duplicate that, as Trump's 15 GOP primary opponents discovered. Imagine what a political neophyte will face.”

Cobb seems to be well aware of that. As he begins his bid, the former staffer said he wouldn’t run simply as a Trump ally but as someone who could deliver for the district in his own right.

“Ultimately it will be Kansans who decide this,” he said, “not the president, and not the president’s team.”

