Tony Samuel Joins!

**Nigel** (0:00)
You're listening to The Hammer and Nigel Show. My name is Nigel. Jason Hammer is out. Brian Alvey filling in for Hammer, also joining us live in studio. As always, like he does every Thursday, Tony Samuel from Samuel Solutions. Tony, give us just a little bit of background about who you are, what Samuel Solutions is, and you're a political insider here. You ran the Trump campaign from Indiana back in his first term a little bit.

**Tony Samuel** (0:27)
Just a little bit about yourself. Thanks for having me again. Great to see you, Nigel, and Brian as well.
Brian and I go back a little ways this week.

**Brian Alvey** (0:35)
Yeah, a little bit.

**Tony Samuel** (0:35)
Always good to see you. Yeah, I've been around doing political stuff for longer than I want to admit because it was 1992, and I know it looks like I might have started when I was five years old, but I was a little older than that.
And so, along the way, I started as a volunteer. I think I mentioned last week that I started just by calling the Republican Party and looking for who I could help. I had graduated college at the IUPY and had a job for a while and just didn't want to do that, didn't want to be in retail management. And so, I got involved in politics, and along the way, worked for...

**Nigel** (1:10)
I think it worked out for you.

**Tony Samuel** (1:11)
Yeah, thanks. You did okay, brother. In the long run, there were some days when you...

**Nigel** (1:15)
I've seen the domicile. I know.

**Tony Samuel** (1:19)
There were some early years where you don't get paid much when you're starting in campaign work, or a young guy as a special assistant to a congressman and that kind of thing. One of the things I did was work for Sue Ellen Reed, who was the superintendent of schools from like 96 to, I think, 92 to 208 I started with her in 96, but she went through the convention. That's when it was an election position, now it's an appointed position, but she went through the convention. And so I was there with her, helped her on her campaign side of things as well. So it was familiar. I was also, my wife worked in the Secretary of State's office with Todd Rokita under Sue Ann Gilroy, and then was on his campaign in 2002 when he first ran for Secretary of State through that convention.

**Brian Alvey** (2:03)
I think that's when you and I first met. We were both working on Todd's campaign.

**Tony Samuel** (2:07)
That's right. So I've been through it, so it's just kind of an interesting, crazy, different political exercise than primaries.

**Nigel** (2:17)
What is Samuel Solutions?

**Tony Samuel** (2:18)
That's my lobbying firm. So I've worked, like I said, for different office holders and a little campaign work. Also, like you mentioned, I was the Trump vice chair for Indiana. And also, that was kind of a voluntary role back in 2016, but also on the paid campaign as the communications director. And that was a great experience. Obviously, we won. Our goal was to win every delegate in that primary where we knocked out Ted Cruz and then John Kasich dropped out the next day and to win and to be first on the board in the general election. And we traveled to state, Rex Early was the state chairman.
And so, yeah, that was real significant as far as my career. That led to some, just I started my own lobbying firm before that and that health business. And so I'm a consultant for different companies and associations. And so I work at the Indiana State House while they're in the legislature and have clients that are my year-long client, year to year, I should say.
And so I guess all of the relationships and understanding the legislative process has led me to the point where now I can help companies and folks that need to work with legislators and the governor's staff.

**Brian Alvey** (3:44)
He's going back down memory lane there, and give me a few flashbacks. I think officially Tony and I could be referred to as political papas. Yeah, because we tasted a lot of the same dirt, the same campaigns. Yeah, so it was fun. Yeah, I tell everybody, you know, being a part, especially the GOP, and I call it the years of the aughts, 2000 to 2010 It was just a golden era. It's amazing. We had all Indianapolis downtown, just all the state house. It was just a it was an amazing time.
I look back, I wish I would have appreciated it more because I look down there now as a war zone between potholes.