By Leo Wolfson, State Politics Reporter
Leo@Cowboystatedaily.com
U.S. Rep.-elect Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, has chosen a familiar face to be her chief of staff when she begins her first term on Capitol Hill next month.
She confirmed Thursday afternoon that Carly Miller, who served as Hageman’s campaign manager in her landslide primary and general election wins, will be elevated to chief of staff.
“I am pleased to announce that I’ve selected Carly Miller to be my congressional chief of staff,” Hageman said. “As my campaign manager, Carly traveled over 40,000 miles across Wyoming with me over the past year and will work day and night for the people of this great state in Congress.”
Not From Wyoming
Miller made no mention of the Hageman campaign or other Wyoming issues on Twitter until a late December 2021 post where she retweeted a Hageman campaign commercial. She is from Kansas and has no known connections to Wyoming prior to her work with the Hageman campaign.
Outgoing U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney’s chief of staff Kara Ahern also is not a Wyoming native. The chiefs of staff for U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, Dan Kunsman and Kristin Walker, have Wyoming backgrounds.
At Hageman’s Side
Miller was a constant fixture at Hageman’s side during the height of her campaign, walking with her through the crowds waiting outside the Wyoming Ford Center at the Save America rally hosted by former President Donald Trump in May.
Support for Trump was the largest focus of Hageman’s campaign against U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, a vocal critic of the former president since he sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
According to Legistorm, a public database for political information, Miller joined the Hageman campaign earlier this year.
‘A Great Honor’
“It will be a great honor to serve as chief of staff for Wyoming’s only member of Congress, but it is also a great responsibility,” Miller said. “Harriet demands we work every day to ensure that the views and values of Wyomingites are represented in Washington, D.C.”
Hageman said Miller understands Wyoming issues and that Wyomingites are the true owners of the state’s single seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I am proud to work for Harriet Hageman because she truly puts Wyoming and American interests first, and I am proud to serve the people of Wyoming,” Miller said.
Chiefs of staff serve an important role, in some ways the No. 2 to the elected officials they represent. They typically guide policy and messaging for the officials they represent and manage the rest of their staffs.
Worked On Trump Campaigns
According to Legistorm, Miller started her political career working as the Iowa State Director for former President Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign.
Under Miller’s leadership, Trump won each of Iowa’s congressional districts and held every county he carried in his 2016 campaign. Additionally, the campaign increased Trump’s winning margins in 81 of Iowa’s 99 counties.
She also was involved in Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Her next step in politics came serving as campaign manager for Iowa Republican congressional candidate Nicole Hasso. Miller was announced as Hasso’s campaign manager in August 2021, but it is not clear when she left. Hasso ended up finishing second in the June Republican primary for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, failing to receive an endorsement from Trump.
