Daniel Coats (R-Ind.). His public sector work continued in the office of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), where he was chief of staff until 2002.

That's when Hoppe took his sterling credentials and contacts to the private sector, heading the public relations team at the lobbying and p.r. firm Quinn, Gillespie and Associates from 2003-2011. After a short stint back on Capitol Hill with Sen. Jon Kyl's (R- Ariz.) office, he founded his own lobbying and consulting firm, Hoppe Strategies, in 2013, and has also worked with K Street powerhouse Squire Patton Boggs. Over the years, Hoppe has represented some of America's biggest corporations, including AT&T;, Berkshire Hathaway and MetLife. In the first half of 2015 he was retained by Delta Airlines, Ford Motor Co, the Sheldon Adelson-backed Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling and the National Association of Broadcasters. Mr. Hoppe has also been a senior advisor at the Bipartisan Policy Center since 2013.

Since 2007, Hoppe has made over $142,000 in political contributions, all of it to Republicans. Recipients include the Senate campaigns of current presidential candidates Carly Fiorina, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham; Rep. Paul Ryan's last three re-election campaigns ($3,000) and even Kevin McCarthy ($500), who was considered the heir to the speakership until his last-minute withdrawal from consideration led to Ryan's ascendancy.

Updated October 28, 2015