This morning, I caught up with Matt Mowers, the wunderkind aide-turned-operative-turned-State Department hand-turned congressional candidate who has made what he claims is a final turn to the public affairs business. Mowers, after all, may only be 33, but he’s already endured a Zelig-like career. Seemingly a lifetime ago, he ran Chris Christie’s brief campaign before jumping ship to the Trump–Pence ticket. Eventually he worked his way through the State Department under Tillerson and Pompeo, and he has already run twice (and lost) to represent New Hampshire’s first congressional district. 

Undeterred, Mowers recently set up Valcour LLC, which is strategically based in both D.C. and the G.O.P.’s first primary state, his home turf of the Granite State. Valcour’s clients are mostly corporations or nonprofits; he doesn’t advise any federal political clients, at least for now. Mowers and I discussed the latest in the still first-in-the-nation G.O.P. primary state and the 2024 election. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.