He was the Organizational Director for the 1996 Bob Dole Presidential campaign, chief of staff to the most recent Republican governor of Colorado, Bill Owens, the Western US Campaign Director for the George W Bush campaign, and campaign manager for Colorado Senate Candidate Pete Coor among other roles. Tonner appears to have a cordial relationship with the International Republican Institute (IRI), although the exact relationship remains clear. What is clear is that he worked as a consultant for Fidesz, with media having reported that this relationship dates back to the 2000s. Based on his background, he likely provided advice either on door-to-door “field” campaigning, communications consulting, or both, to the party. Despite the party’s embrace of authoritarian conservatism he appears to remain publicly supportive of the party.
In addition to his work for Fidesz, he has been involved in various other projects abroad, including the South Sudanese, Sri Lankan and Indonesian governments, based on information available under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. He currently works as the head of the Fulcrum Group, a communications strategy consultancy based in Denver Colorado.
