Jay McCleskey has been very active in New Mexico politics. He is a political strategist who learned the trade by working on campaigns in New Mexico. This includes working on local campaigns for both incumbents and challengers. He would go on to work on campaigns statewide. He has even played integral roles in campaigns of national importance. For example, he ran the RNC's Victory operation in New Mexico in 2004, which was an important part of the re-election campaign for then-President George W. Bush. An important battle ground state, New Mexico awarded its electoral votes to the Republican nominee that year.