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Chris Georgacas

Chris Georgacas, president and chief executive officer of Goff Public, is widely regarded as one of Minnesota’s top public affairs strategists.

He joined Goff Public in 1998 and has directed its public affairs practice ever since. In 2004 Chris succeeded Bob Goff as president, and today he manages the company.

Drawing on three decades of involvement in Minnesota government, civic affairs, politics, and media, Chris provides strategic counsel to our clients to manage their interests and reputations in the public sector. He also works with other Goff Public team members to develop communications and public affairs plans that employ the right tactics to solve problems.

Chris has vast experience with civic and business organizations, the Minnesota Legislature, state agencies, the governor’s office, Minnesota’s congressional delegation, local governments, and news media. Named in May 2008 by City Pages as one of the “Ten Most Powerful Republicans” in Minnesota, Chris has broad experience at the highest levels of state politics and policymaking, including two terms as chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota.

As a participant in and observer of state and national politics, Chris has been quoted in numerous publications, including The Washington Post and The New York Times. He has also appeared many times as a guest on Minnesota Public Radio news programs and other public affairs broadcasts.

Party chairman

Before coming to Goff Public, Chris served two terms (1993-1997) as chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, transforming its fundraising, communications, technology, and grassroots organizing operations – resulting in immediate successes in the 1994 elections and providing a foundation for later party victories. At the time, he was the youngest state chairman of either major party in the country. His chairmanship was described as “transformative” by a later chairman when Chris was awarded (at age 46) a lifetime achievement award for his service to the party.

As party chairman, Chris worked to repair deep intra-party divisions to ensure the reelection of Governor Arne Carlson in 1994. In 1998 he managed then-Saint Paul Mayor (later U.S. Senator) Norm Coleman’s unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign; Coleman finished second in an unusual three-way race. In 2002 Chris was campaign chairman for Tim Pawlenty’s first election as governor, directing the strategy to defeat a strong rival for the Republican nomination and win the general election. Chris then served as chairman of Governor Pawlenty’s transition team and his kitchen cabinet for the next two years.  In 2010 Chris was recruited to serve as chairman of Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer’s campaign following a shake up of the campaign’s leadership.  In the final three months of the campaign, he helped Emmer climb from an 11-point deficit to finish second in a narrow (0.4%) loss to Governor Mark Dayton.

State government experience

Chris’s experience with state government includes service as a top aide in the Minnesota House of Representatives, a researcher in the Minnesota Senate, an administrator in a state agency (where he was in charge of terminating a state grant program), board member of the Minnesota State Board of Education, and vice-chair and committee chairman of the Metropolitan Council.

Thought leader

In 1997 Chris founded Center of the American Experiment’s free-market policy prescription project for Minnesota state government, published the next year as the Minnesota Policy Blueprint. With legendary Democratic former Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, Chris co-chaired a bipartisan taskforce which produced the critically acclaimed 2006 report, “Devoted to Some Useful Purpose: Reforming Minnesota’s Legislature for the 21st Century.” In 2000 he led the bipartisan committee working in successful opposition to then-Governor Ventura’s proposal for a unicameral Legislature.

National politics

Chris also served on the staffs of two Minnesota U.S. Senators in the 1980s, worked for former U.S Representative Vin Weber, and managed the unexpected party endorsement of former U.S. Representative Jim Ramstad in 1990. Today he is kitchen cabinet chair for U.S. Representative Erik Paulsen. He is a past member of the Republican National Committee and a delegate to three Republican National Conventions, once as Minnesota Delegation Chairman and twice as a member of the Platform Committee.

Community involvement

In addition, Chris has been involved in a number of community organizations, including service as a church volunteer, library trustee, and American Heart Association volunteer. He presently serves on the boards of Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce and Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, and he is chair of the Saint Paul Police Foundation board. Chris has also been a board member of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts since 2005.

Chris is a native of Grand Forks, ND. He studied classical languages at the University of Minnesota. Chris and his wife have been married 25 years and have two children. He enjoys skiing, cycling, listening to the blues and classical music, reading economic and political history, and avidly following Formula 1 racing.

President
Chief Executive Officer

Joined Goff Public:  1998

Contact Chris Georgacas:

chris@goffpublic.com

Office: 651-292-8062

Cell: 612-508-2045

@ChrisGeorgacas

Conversation starters:

  • Classical literature
  • Teenage daughters
  • Blues musicians

    Call us: 651-292-8062
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