The Sultan of Snark

Jonathan Felts, a Republican political consultant based in Raleigh, is short on nuance and subtlety. He spices his official campaign messages with pop-culture references, schoolyard trash talk, and middle school humor. 

He’s dropped ‘80s movie references in quotes, used Grandpa Simpson in an analogy, and called his old boss, former Gov. Pat McCrory, a “master debater.” During this year’s GOP primary for governor, he asked a poll question about a collection of Princess Diana dresses that belong to candidate Bill Graham’s wife and reported the results in a press release.

Corey Friedman, the editor of The Wilson Times, has dubbed Felts the “Sultan of Snark.” 

“While I’m not a sultan,” Felts said, when I asked him about the description, “I can be snarky when/if the moment calls for it and it benefits my client.”

Felts, a self-described nerd, has elevated the art of political consultancy at a time when politics has become toxic and unbearable. A sought-after GOP campaign operative, he and his partner Michael Luethy (who declined an interview for this story, but whom Felts credits for being the brains behind their victories) helped Ted Budd win his U.S. Senate race in 2022. 

Now Felts is looking to send Addison McDowell to Washington to represent North Carolina’s 6^th Congressional District and Brad Knott to represent the 13th; both candidates have had fiercely contested primaries. Felts and Luethy are also working with a PAC to elect Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson governor.

I met Felts when he worked for U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes 20 years ago and reconnected when I spent a day on the trail with Budd in 2022.

While Budd was a pleasant man, Felts, who turned 50 that year, won the day. Between the self-deprecating humor, stories about his late dog Indie, and our shared time in Afghanistan, he came off as personable, affable, and grounded. While Felt’s humor has become a signature with reporters and campaign insiders, he isn’t out for laughs, even if he’ll take them. He wants engagement. 

When he started in the 1990s, there were about 30 reporters in North Carolina covering politics full-time. Now there are far fewer, meaning the remaining press corps messengers get inundated with information. If he can get a laugh or connect through a clever line, there’s a better chance his candidate will get some coverage, which gets their message to the voter.

When I approached him about this story, he was reluctant to talk because he is sensitive to his role in campaigns. What candidate wants their consultant in the spotlight? Felts is quick to dispel the idea that he’s a puppet master. He is not a genius, by his own admission, and the success of any campaign comes down to the candidate. 

That’s what you expect him to say. But he’ll admit only a fool runs for office without a consultant. “Just like I would never encourage anyone to do their own heart surgery just because they watched ER back in the day,” he said, “or be their own lawyer because they were a big fan of Night Court.”

Skills and Grit

Felts grew up in a conservative, evangelical Southern Baptist household in Advance, a Davie County town of 1,100. 

His father installed telephone equipment for BellSouth. He could fix anything, according to Felts. When he got transferred to New Jersey, he left the phone company and stayed in North Carolina. Felts said his father tried to sign up for unemployment, but the lead in every pencil he tried to use broke, and he just walked out instead. He did handyman work to make ends meet. His mother invested in three industrial sewing machines and opened a seamstress shop.

If you follow any of Felts’ work, it is peppered with scenes from his upbringing and references to the “working” family—Americans banding together and carving a future using their skills and grit. He sees his parents in every GOP voter. 

Felts was the first in his family to go to college and graduated from North Carolina State University in 1994. His political career started in frigid New Hampshire as a volunteer for Sen. Dick Luger’s 1996 presidential campaign. 

He called Luger’s office after hearing the Indiana senator speak and offered to work on his campaign in exchange for room and board. That’s how he found himself driving north in his 1985 Chevy Cavalier, the muffler rattling all the way to Manchester.

That first volunteer gig led to a career in political consulting. Felts worked on campaigns in North Carolina before branching out and working on House, Senate, and presidential campaigns across the country. 

He worked on Jeff Flake’s House campaign in Arizona in 2000 before returning to North Carolina to work on U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes’ 2002 re-election campaign. He’s also advised numerous campaigns ranging from Senate races to statewide races.

He then led the Bush-Cheney re-election effort in North Carolina in 2004. That led to a stint as White House political director, serving as a key advisor on politics and policy for Bush’s second term.

After the Bush White House, Felts ventured overseas as an adviser for the International Republican Institute on a democracy development project in Kabul. A year later, he ended up at the American Bankers Association as vice president for grassroots advocacy and political affairs, helping with the fallout from the 2008 financial meltdown. 

After working for Jeb Bush’s unsuccessful campaign for president in 2016, Felts founded the Indie Group (named after the dog he adopted while in Afghanistan). It specializes in executive communications, crisis management, political intelligence, and issue advocacy.

Then Felts helped Budd win the seat vacated by former Sen. Richard Burr in 2022. In the primary, Budd was a longshot candidate attempting to beat McCrory. But that’s the kind of candidate Felts likes. “It’s always easier to be voting against something,” he said. “It’s always easier, I think, to run an insurgent campaign.”

When he advised the Budd campaign, Felts did some political calculus. They had the Club for Growth endorsement and knew if Trump endorsed Budd, the press—present company included—would paint Budd as a January 6^th sympathizer. So Felts used his best weapon: humor. 

Samantha Cotton, a political consultant with over a decade of experience, was the Budd campaign’s communications director. Felts, she said, “definitely brings humor to a role. He’s willing to push those boundaries a little bit more than your typical campaign spokesperson.”

Felts’ goal was to soften Budd’s edges a bit. He called one of Budd’s campaign commercials “cinematic majesty” and summed up a poll as Republicans “think Joe Biden sucks.” But he saved his most pointed barbs for McCrory, for whom he worked in 2013 for seven months. McCrory awarded Felts the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2016, the state’s highest honor. 

That didn’t stop Felts from placing a full-page ad in the Charlotte Business Journal that showed a sinking “HMS McCrory” that looked like the Titanic. When McCrory pushed for three televised debates, Felts pushed back—but not before sliding in a bit of snark.

“Pat McCrory is a master debater,” Felts told the Associated Press. “But if he’s so fired up to present his ideas to the people, he ought to get out of Charlotte and start showing up at the grassroots events across North Carolina.”

Contacted recently, McCrory brushed aside Felts comments, arguing Budd won solely because of Trump’s endorsement and the super PAC money that followed.

“Pop culture and some very disrespectful comments directed towards me had no impact on campaign results,” McCrory said in a text message. “These types of attacks are usually read only by media and other political insiders at the expense of the candidates and their families.”

McCrory said Felt’s tactics are not new. He faced the same in previous campaigns and believes these tactics just waste money.

“Candidates are the ones who should get blame [for] wasting donors’ contributions and for approving this type of low ball and immature attacks,” McCrory said. “Games Democratic and Republican consultants have played since Nixon plumbers.”

Cotton said Budd’s discipline was key in his victory but having Felts’ brand of messaging helped. Despite the rhetoric, Budd ran a grassroots campaign that was low on flash. GOP critics complained Felts was running a boring campaign, but Budd beat Beasley 50 percent to 47 percent. 

“If the armchair quarterbacks want to mistake a disciplined campaign for a boring campaign, that’s their business,” Felts said after the win. “But I hope they enjoy their exciting second-place finishes.”

Selling the Message

His win with Budd propelled Felts to the front of the line of political consultants in the state. In the past, political work was feast or famine. In election years, consultants got fat and then starved for two years until another election. 

Now, the election cycle churns 24/7 and 2024 looks like a windfall. We have Joe Biden versus Donald Trump. And Mark Robinson versus Josh Stein.

Felts joked that none of these campaigns are going to lose because they lack resources. “Any political consultant who is having a hard time making ends meet in this day and age probably needs to consider a change of profession,” Felts said. 

If you ask Felts how he could support both George W. Bush, scion of America’s most traditionally Republican family, and Mark Robinson, a MAGA conservative who’s left a trail of incendiary comments, you’re likely to get a story about his bad shoulders caused by baseball and tennis injuries or heartburn from eating junk food. 

“I do lose sleep and suffer some heartburn,” Felts told me. “But supporting Mark Robinson doesn’t keep me awake at night nor does it give me any heartburn whatsoever. To be very clear, I’m proud to support Mark Robinson’s historic candidacy, appreciate the opportunity, and believe he’s going to be a great governor.”

To be clear, Felts is running Robinson’s super PAC. He does not advise the campaign or the candidate directly. But it’s after the snark that you get the truth: Felts thinks it’s a dumb question. Would you ask a Democratic operative the same question? No, he doesn’t think so, arguing no one is asking the Democratic operatives to rationalize Bill Clinton’s stance on abortion with Josh Stein’s.

Of course, Stein hasn’t said homosexuality is “filth,” called school-shooting survivors “media prosti-tots,” or mocked a Harvey Weinstein accuser, as Robinson has.

“The question is built on a stupid, unrealistic premise that one can only work for someone with whom they share 100 percent agreement,” Felts said. “In what profession is that the case? Show me one reporter who agrees with their editor 100 percent of the time. I might wish it was a requirement for marriage, but as most spouses make clear to each other every day, that is most definitely not the case.”

He added: “I’ve been lucky that most of my candidates, with an exception here and there, are good folks I can feel good about getting elected.”

While he is not shy behind closed doors, Felts is a good soldier once a decision is made.

“My job is to sell the message and fight for the win,” Felts said. “And that’s what I’ll do because I’m a professional. And I’ll fight to the very end.”

When I ask him what the GOP represents now, he touches on the greatest hits. Individual freedom leads to opportunity. Small government with a little America First that promotes American jobs. A secure border and strong national defense. Felts says he is a true believer because, in his view, prosperity for America comes from the right. 

Felts said Bush allowed him to live his American dream. He’s flown on Air Force One on the 4th of July and shown his parents the Oval Office, where they met the president. But he is quick to point out that doesn’t mean he agreed with everything Bush did, or Budd, or any candidate.

“But I’m 100 percent glad to have been able to help both men get elected,” Felts said, adding: “In our two-party system, it comes down to two visions. I look at those visions and I believe Republican policies offer more and better opportunities for current and future generations.”

But the party of Lincoln is dead. The GOP his parents supported doesn’t exist any longer. Trump has rewritten the GOP’s DNA.

“I was a Jeb Bush senior adviser for North Carolina, so I was wrong on Trump for a long, long time,” Felts said. “I will be curious where the party goes post-Trump, and I don’t mean that in a negative way towards Trump at all. I just mean, he’s changed the way everyone campaigns and the way everyone communicates.”

Felts is unorthodox, but his snark lacks Trump’s rancor and mean spirit. Felts has a winning formula and seems to be having a good time.

“Working a gig in politics is like anything else, you have good days and bad days,” he texted. “But most of the time, working a gig in politics is fun. Not taking yourself too seriously helps though.”