William B. Lacy is a former political operative and business executive who was the director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, and was the campaign manager for

Fred Thompson Freddie Dalton Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a Unite ...

's 2008 presidential campaign. He was also President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

's Political Director. He resides in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

Education

Lacy graduated from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

with a bachelor's degree in political science and history.

Professional career

From 1975 to 1982, Lacy served in various positions within the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

. In 1982, Lacy left the RNC to become the White House deputy director of political affairs. In 1983, Lacy left the White House to become a senior account executive at Decision Making Information, a polling firm. In 1984, Lacy returned to the Republican National Committee to become the group's political director. From 1985 to 1986, Lacy returned to President

's administration to serve as White House director of political affairs. Lacy worked as a strategist for Kansas Senator

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...

's 1988 presidential primary campaign, Dole's 1992 senatorial campaign and his

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

presidential campaign. Lacy also served as a strategist in President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

and

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

presidential campaigns. In 1994, Lacy worked as a strategist on

's senatorial campaign. Following the 1996 presidential election, Lacy left politics and worked for seven years as vice-chairman and CEO of the Sophie Mae Candy Co., a business operated by his family. The company was sold in 2004. On August 8, 2007, it was announced that Lacy would manage Thompson's 2008 campaign for the presidency. From 2004 until 2021, Lacy served as the director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, located at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

References

External links

Political Wire: Thompson Picks Campaign Manager
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacy, Bill American political consultants Living people University of Kansas staff Vanderbilt University alumni 1954 births