[4][5] He was a vice chair at the public relations firm Edelman,[6] where he advised CEOs and senior decision makers at Fortune 500 corporations,[7] until he stepped down July 2018.

It became the most financially successful Super-PAC in American history, raising almost $100 million to campaign against Trump's failed 2020 re-election bid.

The son of a schoolteacher and a telecommunications executive, Schmidt grew up in North Plainfield, New Jersey, where he became an Eagle Scout, a tight end on the high school football team,[16] a two-year member of the National Honor Society, and senior class vice president.

[17] As a young boy, he distributed campaign materials for Democrat Bill Bradley's 1978 United States Senate election in New Jersey.

[23] In 1999, he was the communications director for Lamar Alexander's presidential run, leaving in June when the campaign reduced its senior staff.

In 2004, he was a member of the senior strategic planning group, led by White House adviser Karl Rove, that ran President George W. Bush's re-election campaign; Schmidt oversaw the reelection "war room".

[31] The media strategist for Schwarzenegger's opponent Phil Angelides said that Schmidt "was able to restore Arnold's original appeal.

"[16] Countering a national anti-Republican wave, Schwarzenegger was re-elected with 57% of the vote in what was considered "a remarkable political turnaround.

[34] McCain had gone from the Republican frontrunner on New Year's Day 2007 to last place and bankruptcy by July 2007 under the leadership of John Weaver and Rick Davis.

Rick Davis retained the formal title of "campaign manager",[37] and was in charge of the vice presidential selection and vetting process,[38][39] alongside attorney A.B.

[40] He was dismayed after learning that Davis had promoted Palin as McCain's running mate, saying in an interview with Kyiv Post that "I thought she would bring down the entire campaign.

"[49] The New York Times described Schmidt's management as having transformed the McCain campaign into "an elbows-out, risk-taking, disciplined machine", crediting him with aggressive responses to press criticism and creative methods of manipulating the news cycle.

"[52] Schmidt turned down all public appearances during the 2008 Republican convention as a protest against the party's stance on gay marriage.

"[54] In February 2013, Schmidt, along with 74 other Republicans, co-signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in support of overturning Proposition 8.

'"[55] Schmidt was hired by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in June 2013 to help spearhead the campaign to strike down state-based laws prohibiting same-sex marriage.

[59] On June 19, 2018, Schmidt formally withdrew from the GOP over Trump's policy of separating immigrant families at the U.S. border with Mexico.

With the exception of a few Governors like Baker, Hogan and Kasich it is filled with feckless cowards who disgrace and dishonor the legacies of the party's greatest leaders ... Today the GOP has become a danger to our democracy and our values.

[61]Describing his new political orientation, he stated: This Independent voter will be aligned with the only party left in America that stands for what is right and decent and remains fidelitous to our Republic, objective truth, the rule of law and our Allies.

[63] On January 28, 2019, it was reported that Schmidt, along with Democratic consultant Bill Burton, had been hired to help shape a potential presidential run by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.

[67] Schmidt serves on the board of the nonprofit research organization Just Capital alongside Arianna Huffington, Deepak Chopra, and others.

[70] Schmidt is a founding member of The Lincoln Project, a Super PAC organized in 2019 by former Republican operatives opposed to Donald Trump's 2020 campaign for re-election.

[15] Schmidt and members of The Lincoln Project guest starred on Showtime's The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth in 2020, giving viewers an insight to their strategies.

[73] Steslow subsequently informed fellow board members Reed Galen and Mike Madrid, and attorney Matt Sanderson.

"[80] In February 2021, Schmidt stepped down from his position on The Lincoln Project board, which he had begun serving on following the departure of Steslow and Madrid only three weeks earlier, and released a statement in which he disclosed he was sexually molested as a teen and apologized to another co-founder, Jennifer Horn, for tweeting her private correspondence with a reporter.