Vukmir adds former EPA spokesman to Senate campaign

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Leah Vukmir’s campaign bulked up with two hires Tuesday, adding Kristin Hopkins as Wisconsin fundraising consultant and Jahan Wilcox as communications director.

After beating Kevin Nicholson in the GOP primary, Vukmir is gearing up for the fall campaign against Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

“Senator Baldwin has already spent $5 million in commercials, and her first general election ad went negative,” Vukmir said in a statement. “These additions to my team with significant Wisconsin experience will give us additional fire-power in exposing TwoFaced Tammy for the hypocrite she is.”

Hopkins was finance director for U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s winning campaign in 2016.

Wilcox, a longtime Republican operative, recently served as a communicators adviser to Scott Pruitt, the former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator who resigned in July after months of ethics controversies.

During his role with the EPA, Wilcox appeared to have a rocky relationship with some reporters.

A 2005 graduate of St. Norbert College, Wilcox worked with former Gov. Tommy Thompson’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2012. Thompson lost to Baldwin.

In 2016, Wilcox worked on the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).