IPR is featuring some of the many female pioneers to celebrate Women’s History Month.
Leone Baxter was born in Kelso, Wa., on Nov. 20, 1906. She moved to Redding, Calif., and soon attained the distinction of being the only woman to manage a Chamber of Commerce. Baxter and her husband, Clem Whitaker, started Campaigns, Inc., the first political consulting firm in the United States.
The firm handled over 75 campaigns and initiatives ranging from taxation and finance to legislative reapportionment. Baxter and Whitaker worked on a diverse range of political issues, mostly for Republican Party candidates. They became well-known after their highly effective PR campaign prevented Democratic candidate and author Upton Sinclair from being elected Governor of California in the 1934 election. She died in 1961.
References
Women that Lead the Way of Public Relations
IPRN
The Lie Factory
The New Yorker
