Dan Estes
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Daniel Dwain Estes (born February 17, 1972) is an American neo-conservative political consultant based in Salem, Oregon. For much of his career, Estes has worked almost exclusively with conservative Republican clients, despite his rather moderate and pragmatic positions on several social issues.
Initially a student of biology and chemistry, Estes quickly gravitated towards politics at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, majoring in International Affairs, with a focus on the Middle East.
His clients have included the Oregon Republican Party, where he served as political director, the 1996 Dole/Kemp presidential campaign (media consultant), the Republican National Committee, where Estes served as field director for President George W. Bush's campaign in 2000 and worked on advance teams for former president George H.W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney and then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Estes has also worked as a grassroots strategist for D.C.-based think-tank Citizens for a Sound Economy, as well as serving as strategist and chief-of-staff to several Oregon legislators. Prior to 2004, Estes was a partner at MBM Strategies LLC, a Republican political consulting firm that ran campaigns for many congressional, legislative and local Republican candidates, as well as several state-wide ballot measures.
From 2004-2006, he served on Governor Theodore Kulongoski's Methamphetamine Task Force, which led to a dramatic reduction in the number of meth labs in Oregon, in the face of a growing national crisis.
Estes has been criticized for his neoconservative philosophy and his adherence to Machiavellian principles and Realpolitik in the traditionally liberal state of Oregon.
He has been linked to such groups as the Council on Foreign Relations, Project for the New American Century and other organizations that advocate for a strong United States foreign policy and military presence. He has also been involved with the World Affairs Council of Oregon. Estes is a volunteer with the International Republican Institute, a non-profit organization that assists emerging democracies across the globe with grassroots development, political infrastructure and elections. IRI has been criticized in the past for its ties and similarities to the nation-building efforts of the Central Intelligence Agency.
