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Carl Forti has nearly 20 years of experience in politics, campaign strategy, media relations and public affairs. He is a seasoned political operative, having served in leadership positions at advocacy organizations, a presidential campaign and four election cycles at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
Carl has been described as "one of the smartest people in politics you've never heard of" by Karl Rove and "the Alexander the Great of the Republican independent expenditure world."
While at Black Rock, Carl develops campaign strategies for the nation's most successful issue advocacy groups, third-party organizations and SuperPACs. Previously, Carl was Executive Vice President for Issue Advocacy at [the now defunct] Freedom's Watch, an organization that was a strong voice for conservatives and impacted the public policy debate at local and national levels.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, Carl served as Deputy Campaign Manager and Political Director for Romney for President, where he built and managed the national political operation that produced 11 primary or caucus victories.
Carl also has extensive experience on Capitol Hill. He served in numerous capacities at the National Republican Congressional Committee, including Communications Director and Issue Advocacy Director, where he managed an $80 million independent expenditure campaign.
Originally from Western New York and a graduate of the George Washington University, Carl resides in Alexandria, VA with his wife Sandy and their three children.
Carl Forti (born June 29, 1972) -- an American Republican Party strategist -- is the Political Director of Karl Rove's American Crossroads Super PAC. Carl Forti was Political Director for Mitt Romney in 2008.
Prior to joining American Crossroads, Forti has co-founded the Black Rock Group, and has been instrumental in the formation of Republican 527's and Super PACs. He has been referred to as "Karl Rove's 'Karl Rove'," "one of the smartest people in politics you've never heard of," and "the Alexander the Great of the Republican independent expenditure world."
Political activities
Forti has long been active raising funds and strategy for the Republican Party. He got his start in the mid 1990s, working at a small ad firm run by GOP consultant, Paul Wilson and steadily moved through the ranks. While working at the Republican National Committee during the 2006 elections, Forti managed their largest ever independent expenditure campaign, totaling $82 million.
In 2008, Forti joined Mitt Romney's Presidential Campaign. As his Political Director, Forti played a key role behind Romney's 11 primary and caucus victories. After Romney dropped out, Forti joined [the now defunct] Freedom's Watch, a 501(c)(4) run by Sheldon Adelson [Adelson Foundation] with the goal of spending over $200 million for conservative causes. During the campaign, Freedom's Watch challenged Federal Election Commission (FEC) requirements to disclose their donors and ultimately won when the FEC ruled that outside spending groups didn't have to reveal their sources unless contributions were earmarked for specific ads.
In 2010, Forti attempted to circumvent FEC guidelines by using his firm, BlackRock Strategies to coordinate with campaigns and advise donors where to contribute. Ultimately the FEC rejected this approach. During the 2010 Elections, Black Rock Group worked on Joe DioGuardi's Senate Campaign while also doing work for American Crossroads.
In 2011, Forti helped establish the Mitt Romney supporting super-PAC, Restore Our Future, raising over $12 million in the first half of 2011 before joining American Crossroads as its political director.
Conflict of interest criticism
American Crossroads was accused of having conflicts of interest over the role of Carl Forti. American Crossroads defended Forti, telling Politico, "Carl Forti is a contract employee with American Crossroads. Carl Forti has other clients. We knew that he had other clients. But clearly, none of us are gonna be involved personally in the Presidential campaign."
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