John Keast

Mr. Keast comes to Cornerstone Government Affairs after eleven years of service as the Chief of Staff for U.S. Representative Roger Wicker (R-MS). Since 1995, Mr. Keast has been responsible for overseeing all facets of the congressman's administrative, policy and political activities. Keast also served in a concurrent role as an associate staff member of the House Appropriations Committee. In that capacity he worked extensively with municipal, corporate, and institutional constituents to pursue appropriations funding requests. His focused area of concentration was in the fields of natural resources and energy. Keast has also worked widely in the defense, economic development, and labor policy areas. Prior to his service for the U.S. House of Representatives, Keast served as a political consultant. In that capacity Keast directly managed or consulted more than twenty campaigns at the state-wide, Congressional, and state legislative levels. During that period of time he also served several years as a staff member in the Virginia House of Delegates. His former clients include multiple current members of the Virginia General Assembly and the Mississippi Legislature. Prior to embarking on his political consulting career, John Keast served several years in policy research for a non-profit research and education foundation. During that time he authored a number of policy analyses, voting-pattern studies, and news editorials. His work was widely used by corporations and the news media, including citations in the top media outlets ranging from the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post to NBC Nightly News and King TV. Keast is married to the former Virginia Hill of Mississippi. They reside in Manassas, Virginia, and have three children.