The man who all-but-guaranteed President George W. Bush he would win Ohio now has the responsibility of delivering the Buckeye State for Donald Trump. But Bob Paduchik, who ran Bush's Ohio campaigns in both 2000 and 2004, is accustomed to audacious challenges.

The newly anointed head of Donald Trump's Ohio campaign made a bold prediction his first day on the job Thursday.

�I think this election will be a historic one, it will be a different one than we�ve ever seen,� said Bob Paduchik, who lives near Westerville.

The longtime Republican consultant knows a little about elections in Ohio: He delivered the state twice for President George W. Bush and managed Rob Portman's successful 2010 campaign for U.S. Senate.

Trump's a "fantastic politician" whose ability to bring new people into the GOP will enable the party to build new coalitions for this year's election, Paduchik said.

"Ohio�s always a critical battleground state, and never more so than this year," he said.

Longtime Republican adviser and CNN commentator Kevin Madden remarked, "There aren't many operatives who know Ohio and how to win it as well as Paduchik. But, there is no doubt this will be a turnaround project. It's like Bill Parcells taking over a 1-15 team. He has his work cut out, but his track record speaks for itself."

Paduchik is the first hire for the Trump campaign in Ohio. Hillary Clinton's effort has had a state director for a month and has a state headquarters and other staff members.

But Paduchik, 49, said he doesn't think Trump has any ground to make up.

�I think we�re in a good place,� he said. "I�ve done this before and I don�t know that we�re getting a late start. We�ve got plenty of time to get the job in Ohio for Mr. Trump."

Paduchik has connections inside the Trump campaign. The billionaire's new national campaign director, Jim Murphy, was Paduchik's boss nearly a decade ago at the Republican public relations and lobbying firm DCI Group.

The official announcement was made by the Ohio Republican Party, which Trump tasked with the job of building a campaign team for him.

"Bob Paduchik is one of the best campaign managers in America. He is a well-known and respected operative in Ohio with a great record of success," said Ohio Republican Chairman Matt Borges in the release.

Along with the Bush efforts in Ohio, Paduchik was operations manager for Broward County during the 2000 Florida presidential vote recount. He was tapped to advise the presidential campaign of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for a short period this year.

In the late 1990s, he was manager of constituent affairs for Gov. Bob Taft. He also was district representative for then-U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine and served as a regional coordinator for DeWine's 1994 Senate campaign.

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