James Nicholas Ayers (born August 16, 1982) is an American political strategist and consultant who served as Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence between July 2017 and January 2019.

He had previously served as national chairman for Pence's vice-presidential campaign in 2016, as well as executive director of the Republican Governors Association from 2007 to 2010.

[1] He also was principal of the lobbying firm C5 Creative Consulting,[2] and is one of four leading figures in America First Policies, a pro-Trump nonprofit organization founded in January 2017.

[4] In December 2018, multiple news organizations described him as a leading contender to succeed John F. Kelly as White House Chief of Staff, but he decided not to take the job.

He was cited as one of the Republican Party's five "fastest rising stars in the nation" by the Atlanta Journal Constitution along with then-Louisiana Congressman Bobby Jindal.

Ayers himself admitted to consuming "a strong Jack (Daniels) and Coke", subsequently failed the field-sobriety test, and repeatedly refused to take a breathalyzer.

When they left in early 2011, the GOP held 29 Governorships, a net gain of seven (including Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Virginia).

[20] In November 2010, in the flush of RGA's victories, Ayers was touted as a potential replacement for Michael Steele as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Ayers's work was interpreted as a de facto endorsement of Priebus (and rejection of Steele) by the GOP governors, several of whom reportedly instructed their RNC members to support the insurgent.

[23] The Washington Times reported in 2012 that the two "quickly made drastic cuts to the staff and overhead and undertook a thoughtful strategic analysis to forge a path forward.

"[27] However, after a major effort, Pawlenty failed to show well in early debates, lost the Iowa Straw Poll in September 2011, and quickly withdrew from the race, with a half-million-dollar debt.

The Wall Street Journal and Wisconsin Watchdog revealed in October 2015 that the "John Doe" probe of pro-Scott Walker groups and individuals from 2011 to 2012, later deemed an unconstitutional invasion of privacy, had targeted Ayers's emails.

[36][37] When Pence abandoned his re-election campaign upon being designated as vice-presidential nominee, Ayers served as a leading strategist for his replacement, Eric Holcomb.

[citation needed]) Ayers, Marc Short, and Josh Pitock formed the core team that prepared Pence for the July convention speech and the October vice presidential debate.

[40] After the election, Ayers was named as a senior adviser to the Presidential Transition, part of the group replacing the earlier team headed by New Jersey Gov.

[42][43] Ayers made the final cut, with strong backing from Pence and presidential adviser Steve Bannon,[44] but ended runner-up to Michigan's Ronna Romney McDaniel.

In March 2017, BuzzFeed reported that Ayers was a major investor in Independent Journal Review, a news website geared to young conservatives, with phenomenal growth in recent years.

Ayers wrote in an August 4 tweet that, similar to "millions of conservationists and sportsmen", he is hoping President Donald Trump will tell the Environmental Protection Agency to block the project, which has been a lightning rod for controversy for some two decades and has been widely assailed by numerous interest groups in Alaska and the lower states, and also faced opposition from many Alaskans.