Scott Jennings

Principal at RunSwitch PR, CNN Contributor, Keynote Speaker

Scott Jennings is the founding partner of RunSwitch Public Relations, Kentucky’s largest PR and public affairs firm, providing senior-level communications, media relations, and crisis communications counsel to clients all over the world, including several Fortune 25 companies. When it comes to blending grassroots campaigns, communications tactics, and political strategy, Scott is one of the most experienced and successful operatives in the country. His expertise on political strategy, polling, and public policy often land him on Fox News, MSNBC, and other national media outlets who value his insights. His unique ability to analyze data and reconcile it with gut-level political instincts makes him a valuable contributor to clients and to CNN, which named him an on-air political commentator in June 2017.

During the spring semester of 2018, Scott was named a Resident Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics, housed in the Kennedy School of Government. There, he taught a series of seminars on American political party politics, tribalism, and political communications in the modern era.

Scott’s career has taken him across the country as part of four presidential campaigns and numerous federal and state races. He served in key roles in both of President George W. Bush’s campaigns in 2000 and 2004, before becoming Special Assistant to the President in 2005, serving under top Bush strategist Karl Rove in the White House Office of Political Affairs. In that role, Scott served as a liaison to members of Congress, state and local officials, and key business, political, and community leaders nationwide. His office advised the President on numerous issues.

Scott’s White House portfolio included political appointments, notably roles in the confirmation of two U.S. Supreme Court Justices: John Roberts and Samuel Alito. He advised the White House on the President’s domestic travel and wrote numerous briefings for the President, Vice President, and senior-level White House officials. He was a front-line briefer for visiting groups, participated in meetings on legislative, policy, and communications strategy, and coordinated surrogate operations to bolster the President’s agenda.

In addition, Scott served in senior communications positions on several highly targeted races, including helping elect U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2002, 2008, and 2014, as well as Congressman Brett Guthrie from 2008 to the present. He has written speeches and other content for numerous political leaders on a wide range of topics and is regarded as one of Leader McConnell’s top outside political advisors.

In 2012, Scott ran Mitt Romney’s Ohio operations in the most targeted battleground state in the election. In 2016, he was a consultant to Jeb Bush in the Republican presidential primary before becoming a political commentator and polling analyst on Fox News in the fall.