Craig Brightup is chief executive officer of The Brightup Group LLC in Washington, D.C. In 2000 he was named to Fortune Small Business magazine’s Power 30 list of “influential insiders” in our nation’s capital. It’s easy to see why. He headed congressional relations for the Federal Trade Commission by appointment of President Reagan, and he has served as vice president of government relations for the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) in its Capitol Hill office, which he opened in 1990. Brightup has provided services to 18 organizations since 2009, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He was the perfect person to update the roofing industry on the events leading up to the 2014 national election.
In his presentation titled “The Impact of Politics on Your Business,” Brightup reviewed the current divided Congress, with Republicans, led by Speaker of the House John Boehner, holding the edge in the House, and Democrats, led by Sen. Harry Reid, comprising the majority in the Senate. He projected a swing in favor of Republicans in the upcoming election, and his predictions were borne out on Nov. 4. “I’m going to give away the end of my talk right now when I tell you that Harry Reid will no longer be the majority leader in the Senate,” he said.