Ben Marchi: State Director, AFP- Virginia

Ben Marchi has worked in the field of national government affairs and state politics for several years. While in Washington, D.C. Marchi worked for Tom Delay in the Office of the Majority Whip as well as a field research analyst for the NRCC. In Virginia, he has played an instrumental role in state elections by both running Brenda Pogge’s successful ’07 bid for the House of Delegates and serving as a field director in the ’05 Lt. Governor race of Sean Connaughton.

Currently, Marchi is the state director for the Virginia chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP-VA). Americans for Prosperity is one of the premier grassroots citizen lobbyist organizations in the country with over 300,000 members nationwide. Americans for Prosperity is a citizen watchdog organization focused on promoting the free-market and issues such as budget reform, lower taxes, government transparency and accountability.

The Virginia chapter of Americans for Prosperity was formed in August of 2005. Since Marchi took over the reigns in January 2008, the chapter has seen many successful grassroots events: both at “AFP-VA’s Days at the Capitol,” where average citizens urged their representatives on proposed legislation and at the first annual “Defending the American Dream Gala” this past year where Gov. George Allen joined over 300 AFP activists to discuss grassroots activism and limited government.

AFP-VA’s watchdog efforts came to fruition this past year when they garnered bipartisan support for state government transparency through a victorious campaign to record House of Delegates subcommittee votes. Marchi also hosted a series of townhall meetings that were successful in preventing the implementation of Governor Kane’s attempted tax hikes.

At present, Marchi is continuing his work by pushing for the defeat of Cap and Trade and Card-Check legislation. This upcoming April he will be hosting Americans for Prosperity’s Save My Ballot Tour.