Ed Gillespie is a business owner, longtime conservative leader and a Republican candidate for Governor in 2017.
Ed grew up working in his parents’ grocery store, the JC Market. The son of an Irish immigrant, Ed started his career as a Senate parking lot attendant and eventually worked his way up to become Counselor to President George W. Bush.
A former Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia and the Republican National Committee, a lead author of the 1994 Contract with America, and a long-time policy and communications aide to former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, Ed has always been a conservative leader.
As Chairman of the RNC, Gillespie in 2004 was the first GOP chairman in 80 years to preside over a party that won the White House, House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. In 2009, he was general chairman of Bob McDonnell’s highly successful campaign for governor, reclaiming the governorship after back-to-back Democratic governors.
Ed and his wife Cathy have three children. They live near George Washington’s historic Mt. Vernon in Fairfax County, Virginia.
In 2014, Gillespie was the Republican nominee for United States Senate in Virginia, losing by less than one percentage point in a near-upset of popular incumbent Mark Warner. The race was widely hailed as one of the best campaigns in the country.
In 2015, Gillespie led successful efforts by the Republican State Leadership Committee to help hold the GOP majority in the Virginia State Senate. The RSLC spent over $1.1 million in the Commonwealth, helping to fend off millions in outside money from liberal groups that poured into Virginia.
“With our vast natural resources, our fertile lands, our port, our people, our two and four-year colleges and universities, our natural beauty and historic landmarks, Virginia should be in the top five states when it comes to economic growth — not the bottom five.”
— Ed Gillespie
