Pro-gay-marriage GOP strategist joins John Kasich's 2016 team

COLUMBUS -- Gov. John Kasich's 2016 allies, preparing for the governor's campaign launch next week, have hired a presidential strategist who helps lead a pro-gay-marriage GOP group.

Matt David, who managed former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's 2012 bid for president, will work for New Day for America, the nonprofit supporting Kasich's 2016 effort. A spokesman for New Day confirmed David's hire. David declined to comment.

David's hire adds to a national staff that now includes John Weaver, the campaign strategist behind John McCain's "Straight Talk Express," and Fred Davis, infamous for the idea to tie President Barack Obama to his controversial former pastor.

All three national operatives worked on McCain's 2008 campaign and Huntsman's longshot primary bid in 2012, and David worked on George W. Bush's re-election bid in 2004.

Like Kasich, all three also have a reputation for less-than-conservative stances or work. David, for instance, is listed as one of the leaders of Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry. Even though he's a moderate on issues such as Common Core or Medicaid, Kasich opposes legalizing same-sex marriage, but this summer attended a former aide's gay wedding.

Kasich's team is finalizing its staffing and launch plan ahead of next Tuesday's announcement in Columbus. New Day, the 527 nonprofit who supports him, has raised $11.5 million without donation limits, but must stop coordinating with the governor once he officially enters the race.

At that point, team members will split up, some staying with the nonprofit and some joining the official campaign committee. Kasich's gubernatorial chief of staff, Beth Hansen, is leaving her $178,000-a-year job to manage his campaign. Hansen's experience includes managing Kasich's 2010 campaign for governor, working for the Republican National Committee and serving as a regional leader on presidential campaigns.

Kasich's interest in his new national hires has already turned off some Republicans in South Carolina, an early-primary state in which the governor has campaigned regularly.

David, with some assistance from Weaver and Davis, last year campaigned against the re-election bid of Nikki Haley, South Carolina's GOP governor. The trio worked for f ormer judge Tom Ervin, who first entered the primary as a Republican, then withdrew to run as an independent in the general election and finally dropped out altogether to support the Democrat in the race. Haley handily won re-election in November.

South Carolina Republicans such as Haley adviser Tim Pearson haven't forgotten.

David also served as communications director for former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and worked in the Bush White House.