Tom Loeffler

Thomas Gilbert (Tom) Loeffler (born August 1, 1946) is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from central Texas. He was an advisor and fundraiser to the 2008 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona until resigning on May 19, 2008 . [ [http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-McCain-Lobbying.html McCain Campaign Fund-Raiser Resigns - New York Times ] ] [ [http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/07/its_official_mccains_press_sta.php Marc Ambinder (July 16, 2007) - It's Official: McCain's Press Staff Resigns ] ]

Loeffler was born in Fredericksburg in the heart of the Texas Hill Country and attended school in Mason, the seat of Mason County. He earned B.B.A. and a Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1971, after just one year of private practice, he was hired by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Republican Senator John Tower made Loeffler his chief counsel in 1972. Two years later, he became a deputy for the Department of Energy.

Loeffler was a legislative assistant to U.S. President Gerald Ford from 1975 to 1977. He successfully ran for Congress in 1978 and was a delegate to all three Republican National Conventions in the 1980s. After four terms in the House, he stepped down to run for governor of Texas, but lost a hardfought Republican primary to eventual winner Bill Clements. Another losing contender was former U.S. Representative Kent Hance, who had defeated George W. Bush for Congress in 1978 in the Lubbock-based district. After his congressional career, Loeffler was appointed to the Office of Legislative Affairs as the coordinator for Central American policies.

In 1989, Loeffler became a University of Texas administrator. Loeffler currently works in Washington, D.C as a lobbyist representing clients including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Like Loeffler, Clements also is active in the McCain presidential campaign.

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