Following the Republican landslide of 1994 , Senator Alfonse D'Amato was named head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee ( NRSC ) , one of the four permanent GOP campaign operations in Washington , responsible for maintaining the new GOP majority . Instead of the parochial practice ( common then and now ) of naming one of his own staffers to manage the sprawling 200-person operation , D'Amato and his chief strategist , Arthur Finkelstein , sought to professionalize the committee 's operations . After an intensive search process , they named Heubusch as executive director . Other key hires included Jo Anne B. Barnhart as Political Director , and Gordon Hensley as Communications Director . ( Barnhart was a long-time aide and campaigner for Sen. William Roth , and later served as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration . ) They had a tough act to follow — Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas had just piloted Republicans to a 7-seat gain and recaptured control of the Senate . The Bob Packwood sex-harassment scandal led to a costly special election , lost narrowly by GOP candidate Gordon Smith . The NRSC faced several challenges beyond their control , many emanating from the two dominant Republicans of 1995 – 96 , House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole . The Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995 gave Bill Clinton an opportunity to marginalize his opponents , and slowed the momentum of the reform-minded Republican Congress . By late 1995 , unrelenting Democratic and press attacks , and his own missteps , had turned Gingrich into a pariah through much of the country ( 2-to-1 unfav-fav ratio in surveys ) ; meanwhile , Dole was running for President , and allowing ambition to overshadow his Senate work . In mid-1996 , Dole resigned from the Senate to campaign full-time , but by then he was behind Clinton to stay , and eventually polled less than 41 % nationwide
Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
John Heubusch