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Focus Areas

Campaign Strategy

Communications/Media

Public Policy

 

Policy Focus

Constitutional Law

Ethics

Higher Education

Intelligence and

International Relations

Religious Liberty and

Church & State

SAMUEL S. CHEN

PRINCIPAL DIRECTOR

Samuel Chen an award-winning political scientist, analyst, and strategist and serves as principal director and chief strategist of The Liddell Group.

Chen founded The Liddell Group in 2015 and has served in a variety of roles with various presidential candidates, governors, members of Congress, and state and local officials. In 2016, Chen worked with Ohio Governor John Kasich on his  presidential campaign and, previous to that, served as a political director to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett and managed the congressional campaign of US Congressman Charlie Dent. Chen also served as an aide in both houses of Congress - to Dent in the House of Representatives and to US Senator Pat Toomey in the Senate. During his time in Waco, Texas, Chen served as a government stakeholder with the Greater Waco Education Alliance.

In academia, Chen is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Northampton Community College (PA), where he also directs the political science program and the George S. McElwee Forum for Excellence in Public Service. He additionally serves as an advisor to Baylor University's Washington DC program and is a member of the American Enterprise Institute's Conservative Education Reform Network (CERN) and Leadership Network (LN).

Chen hosts the television news journal Face the Issues and serves as a political commentator for Alhurra TV. He regularly provides analysis for a variety of media outlets, including local, national, and international outfits. He is a frequent speaker on college campuses and at various conferences and has authored two books: Thirteen Minutes: Winning, Losing, and Living as Taught by the 2016 Election (Opus) and E Pluribus Unum: The Scope of Church and State in American Liberal Democracy (Kendall Hunt).

 

City & State Pennsylvania named Chen as one of the top political consultants in Pennsylvania and as one of state's most powerful and influential Asian Americans. He was additionally named to their "40 Under 40" list of leaders in government and politics in both 2021 and 2017 and to PoliticsPA's "30 Under 30" list for political operatives in 2014. He previously served as a judge for the prestigious Pollie Awards, hosted by the American Association of Political Consultants and dubbed by Esquire magazine as the "Oscars of political advertising," and was named Outstanding Judge of the Year in 2019.  He has also received various accolades for his work in higher education and academia

A proud alumnus of Baylor University, Chen holds degrees in philosophy, political science, and church-state studies and has completed studies in homeland security and emergency management from the Valley Forge Military College. He is active in campus ministry and is involved at his home church in Pennsylvania.

FAST FACTS: SAM CHEN

SCHOOL?

Baylor born and Baylor bred and when I die, I'll be Baylor dead.  Sic 'em, Bears.

 

FIRST INTERESTED IN POLITICS?

1996 Presidential Debate between President Clinton and Senator Dole.

 

BIGGEST PET PEEVE IN POLITICS?

I have two: 1) the mind-boggling level of importance placed on yard signs and

2) the incessant cry that "this  is the most important election of our lifetimes".

Both are grossly overstated.​

 

WAWA OR SHEETZ?

Buc-ee's. Wawa. Sheetz. In that order.

 

YOU SPENT SEVERAL YEARS IN TEXAS, DO YOU HAVE A TEXAN HABIT THAT YOUR OTHER FRIENDS JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND?

There are so many, but I get the most grief for putting salsa on my eggs.

WHAT IS THE BEST THING FROM YOUR HOME STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA HAS THAT TEXAS DOESN'T HAVE?

Wegmans.  H-E-B Central Market in Texas is close, but not quite there. After Wegmans, having all four seasons is a close second.

BEST ADVICE FOR PEOPLE VISITING WASHINGTON, DC?

Stand on the right, walk on the left.

 

HOUSE OF CARDS, SCANDAL, OR THE WEST WING?

Politicos see their jobs as The West Wing, others see it as Scandal, but it's really House of Cards.

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Chen, Samuel (2)
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