Ginsberg is the GOP's go-to guy for electoral recounts. He is best known for his work on the 2000 Florida recount that ended in the U.S. Supreme Court's Bush v. Gore decision, but he has represented the leadership and campaign political action committees of slews of senators, House members and governors.Ginsberg was the national counsel for Mitt Romney's 2008 campaign, advised his Free and Strong America PAC and continues to offer counsel for Romney's 2012 efforts .
After growing up outside of Philadelphia, Ginsberg attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he edited the school's newspaper and launched his career as a newspaperman. But after five years of reporting, he returned to school to earn his J.D.
His first year out of law school, Ginsberg was working at Baker Hostetler, a Washington firm, and was asked to examine recount precedents by the Republicans on the House Administration Committee. Two years later, in the wake of a close congressional race, he was sent to Indiana to work on a recount, the first of many.
Ginsberg began working in 1985 as counsel to the National Republican Congressional Committee, and over the next eight years he would work closely with the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He worked on a range of political and campaign issues, but his duties with these groups also took him to recounts in 1986 in Minnesota and in 1988 in Florida. In 1993, Ginsberg joined the D.C.-based firm Patton Boggs, but continued working with Republican PACs, as well as on recounts, including one in Connecticut in 1994.
By 2000, Ginsberg had joined the Bush-Cheney campaign as national counsel, and he was a key player on the Bush legal team during the recount proceedings. He'd later call the Bush recount team "the most outstanding group of lawyers with whom I have ever worked or probably will work again."
Ginsberg signed on to advise the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004, as well, but resigned after his work with the 527 group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth raised conflict-of-interest questions.
From Patton Boggs, Ginsberg continues to work with both political committees and on recounts -- most recently the Minnesota contest between Al Franken and Norm Coleman and the Alaska election that returned Lisa Murkowski to the Senate.
In His Own Words
Best Piece(s) of Political Advice: "There's no job too big and no job too small if you want to win elections and succeed personally." "Never lie. Always tell the truth, except when you can't and then don't say anything." "Gee, sir, we should really make sure all the similarly marked ballots are counted the same in the different counties."
Favorite TV Ad: "The Ashley ad done by Progress for America in 2004, especially its impact in Ohio."
Lowest Moments on a Campaign: "Each time the point comes when I realize a candidate I really respect and like isn't going to win. " "The 24 hours during the Florida recount after the Florida Supreme Court's second decision, which ignored the U.S. Supreme Court and ordered a recount with no standards."
Best Comeback: "The 1994 congressional elections where the 1991-92 redistricting took hold and the GOP gained control of the U.S. House for the first time in 40 years."
More on: Benjamin Ginsberg
Show less
Text Size
