Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Christine Aurre

No. 4 Christine Aurre

This is a year of big jumps on the Top 100, almost none more so than Christine Aurre, who was No. 25 last year. Her official title is Legislative Affairs Secretary, a thankless job in the best of times but truly difficult in a brutal budget year. But Aurre feels built for this moment. Those who know and work with her on the regular laud her ability to effectively advance her boss’s legislative priorities in a Legislature that often sees him as a frenemy, and which always ferments enough of its own drama to qualify as an honorary Kardashian. It also takes someone who cannot be cowed or intimidated by lawmakers or lobbyists or advocacy groups or unions or anyone else, including her boss. In that sense she is the living embodiment of the iron fist in a velvet glove, often within the same conversation. She has a wealth of political savvy and grit, and is all the while renowned for handling herself with grace, intelligence and charm not always in fashion in politics. Would it surprise us to see her become a future governor’s COS? Nope.

Updated August 11, 2026