Andrew Theen/MNS
Justin Roth serves as chief of staff for Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh, R-8th.
Why He Matters
Justin Roth has experience working and studying overseas, as a legislative aide and a veteran lobbyist. He is currently the chief of staff for freshman Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill.
Roth says he loves his new job, where he “wears about 30 different hats.” He says Walsh, although a rookie politician, knows the issues “backwards and forwards.”
“He just needed somebody who knew the city a little bit,” Roth said.
Walsh sits on the House Homeland Security, Small Business, and Oversight and Government reform committees. With nearly a decade of lobbying experience for independent insurance and mutual insurance companies, Roth said his background is a perfect fit for Walsh’s pro-business, limited government and anti-tax platform.
In his own words
“I really enjoyed lobbying, this was before you know being a lobbyist was a bad word at the time.” Roth said he loved getting to know a specific policy and the important lawmakers on that given issue.
Roth is a long-standing supporter of Israel. “Once you get over there and you really get a sense of the geography and the dangers that they’re dealing with, it’s hard to not understand the situation they are in.”
Path to Power
Roth was born and raised in and around Miami, although “not the glitzy South Beach part.”
He studied history and political science at Florida State University, but his most formative moment came during an internship at the British Parliament. Roth, always a keen observer of foreign issues, said that experience propelled him to look for a job in politics back home.
At 23-years-old he became “probably the youngest legislative aide at the time in Tallahassee” working for then Florida State Senator Anna Cowin.
After that, Roth served as a legislative aide to then Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Florida. Roth said during that time he honed his interest in foreign relations and small businesses.
He went on to work as a lobbyist for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America. “Being up on the Hill advocating for, not just an issue that I found fascinating, but also an issue that I actually believed in was really enjoyable,” Roth said.
Six years after transitioning to lobbying for mutual insurance companies, Roth made a move to pursue a degree from the London School of Economics. “I can’t do this when I’m married, I can’t do this when I have kids, it’s always been a dream of mine,” Roth said. He wanted to get out of the beltway and expand his experience beyond lobbying.
After returning from London, he sat on the sidelines and waited for the 2010 elections to play out. Roth said he immediately clicked with Walsh, a candidate who the National Republican Congressional Committee didn’t take notice of during the campaign.
Walsh won by a mere 291 votes. Roth said he bonded with Walsh immediately over their love of history and small business issues.
The Issues
Walsh earned a subcommittee chairmanship in his freshman term, a rare phenomenon, on the Small Business subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access.
In addition to the Small Business committee, Walsh sits on the Homeland Security and Oversight and Government Reform committees. For Roth, his experience working, studying and interning overseas as well as his lobbying experience for independent insurance industry is a huge boost to Walsh.
Roth said his political interests and important issues stayed true throughout his life and are in line with Walsh’s concerns. “I only cared about lower taxes, smaller government, and pro-Israel.”
The Network
Roth considers high-ranking British MP Nigel Evans a very good friend. He described Evans as “one of the most down to Earth nicest guys you’d ever meet. He’s just a great person.” Evans attended Roth’s wedding, and is currently one of three deputy speakers of Parliament.
Prior to his foray into lobbying, Roth worked for two years as a legislative assistant to Joe Scarborough, the former Florida representative and current co-host of MSNBC’s popular “Morning Joe.”