The 25 Most Influential Republicans

They're the inside players, the deal makers, and the power brokers who are at the very top of the Republican Party's unofficial hierarchy.

Meet "The Influencers" — the 25 most influential Republicans. And Newsmax magazine's September 2008 edition takes an exclusive look at these movers and shakers who will play a crucial role in the November elections and beyond.

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In compiling our list, we excluded political office holders and members of the media closely aligned with the GOP because their identities and power are usually well known.

Instead, our 25 influencers are well known within political circles, but may not be as familiar to the general public.

The elite Republicans profiled in Newsmax magazine's special report are categorized in three groups: the "Insiders & Strategists" who help formulate GOP policies; the "Money Makers" who financially support candidates, political causes and think tanks; and the "Political Activists" who reach out to millions in the grass roots, helping to frame public opinion and win elections.

Here are the 25 elite Republicans, where they operate, and their chief affiliations and positions:

Insiders & Strategists

1. Charles Black, Denver, N.C.

John McCain's chief strategist

2. Newt Gingrich, Virginia

General Chairman of American Solutions for Winning the Future

3. William Kristol, McLean, Va.

Editor of The Weekly Standard and a foreign policy adviser to McCain's campaign

4. Frank Luntz, Alexandria, Va.

Founder of Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research, a political consultant/pollster

5. Mary Matalin, New Orleans

Editor in chief of the political imprint Threshold Editions

6. Carly Fiorina, Washington, D.C. and Silicon Valley, Calif.

Victory '08 chairman, Republican National Committee

7. Mark Salter, Washington, D.C.

McCain political adviser and speechwriter

8. Roger Stone, New York and Surfside, Fla.

Manager of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler's press and PR division

9. Vin Webber, Washington, D.C.

Managing partner of lobbying firm Clark & Weinstock

Political Activists

10. Tom DeLay, Sugar Land, Texas

Heads a political consulting firm and runs a conservative blog

11. Dr. James Dobson, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Chairman of Focus on the Family

12. Richard Land, Franklin, Tenn.

President of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

13. Grover Norquist, Washington, D.C.

President of Americans for Tax Reform

14. Wayne LaPierre, Fairfax, Va.

Chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association

15. Ralph E. Reed Jr., Miami and Duluth, Ga.

Founder and CEO of Century Strategies

16. Paul Weyrich, Fairfax, Va.

Head of the Free Congress Foundation and co-founder of the Heritage Foundation

17. Richard A. Viguerie, Castleton, Va.

Chairman of American Target Advertising, Inc.

Money Makers

18. Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas

Chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp.

19. Ronald Lauder, New York

President of the World Jewish Congress

20. David H. Murdock, Los Angeles

Owner and CEO of Dole Food

21. Andrew Jerold Perenchio, Los Angeles

National co-finance director for the McCain campaign

22. T. Boone Pickens, Dallas and Texas Panhandle

Chairman of BP Capital Management

23. Mercer Reynolds, Washington, D.C. and Indian Hill, Ohio

National finance co-chairman for the McCain campaign

24. Richard M. Scaife, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Owner, chairman and publisher of Trib Total Media and vice-chairman of the Heritage Foundation board of trustees

25. Bill Simon, Pacific Palisades, Calif.; Maui, Hawaii; Sun Valley, Idaho

Co-chairman of William E. Simon and Sons LLC

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