CHARLESTON, W.Va.—Longtime Republican operative Robert Gould, who managed the unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign of Colorado Republican Marc Holtzman last year, died unexpectedly Saturday of cancer. He was 48.
Gould had just been named chairman of Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani’s West Virginia campaign last week, state Sen. Donna Boley, R-Pleasants, said.
When Gould’s longtime friend and business partner Joe Lopez called with the news, Boley said, she was shocked.
“He was so helpful to me when I was minority leader,” she said. “He was just a good friend, an intelligent guy, very politically astute.”
Gould was originally from New York. He worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Ronald Reagan before moving to West Virginia.
Earning the nickname “Buffalo Bob” from starting a Monroe County ranch with the animals, Gould entered West Virginia politics in 1992 with an unsuccessful run for state attorney general.
He then served as legal counsel to Boley in the Senate. From 1993 to 2001, he was general chairman of the West Virginia Republican Legislative Committee. Gould worked on 270 campaigns during his career, according to Lopez, who called him his best friend. The two also were partners in Image Development Group of Charleston.
Despite his deep GOP ties—Gould once raised $150,000 at a party to pay off the state GOP’s debts—he was actively involved with the group Republicans for Manchin in 2004.
“He was always a supporter of the governor’s,” said Lara Ramsburg, Gov. Joe Manchin’s spokeswoman. “He was someone the governor respected very much … but more than that he really liked him as a person.”
Beyond politics, Lopez described his best friend Gould as “the best parent I ever saw.”
Gould is survived by his wife Denise, two daughters and a son. A visitation and funeral service are scheduled for Thursday in Charleston.
