Reidsville – Candidate for Congress Ray McKinney (R-Savannah) has named former Tattnall County Republican Chairman David Cutbirth as his campaign’s press secretary.

“I first met Ray last year and was impressed with his unconventional approach as a candidate for Congress,” said Cutbirth, 58, of Reidsville. “I was very pleased when Ray asked me to join his campaign. He’s traveled the district, talked with hundreds of ordinary working folks, and is taking on the old politics-as-usual crowd. I was involved in a similar campaign in 1994, and we won.”

A preacher’s son, Cutbirth grew up in the Midwest, joined the Navy in 1970 and settled in Washington State when he was discharged in 1974. He started his political career as a grassroots organizer for Ronald Reagan’s 1976 presidential campaign while attending Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash.  

Following his graduation in 1977, Cutbirth was news anchor and reporter for three Northwest Washington radio stations, winning two professional journalism awards for reporting. In 1986, Cutbirth moved to Olympia, Wash., where he worked as public information officer for the Washington State House and Senate Republican caucuses until 1992.  

From 1992 to 1994, Cutbirth was hired as a communications consultant for several state and local campaigns. In 1994, he became press secretary for congressional candidate Jack Metcalf (R-Washington) and joined Metcalf’s staff as press aide upon his election.  Cutbirth left Metcalf in 1998 to become press secretary for a Republican U.S. Senate campaign. He rejoined Metcalf’s staff in 1999 until the congressman’s retirement in 2001.

Cutbirth moved to Reidsville in 2004 and became Tattnall County GOP chairman the next year. Since then, he has been elected delegate to three state GOP conventions, sits on the state GOP resolutions committee, and was recently selected as alternate delegate to the 2008 National Republican Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

“I’m very pleased that David has agreed to join our team,” McKinney said.  “His extensive political experience will be a big boon to this grassroots effort, because communications to and through the media is a very important aspect of any campaign.”