Jason Roe, chief of staff to Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.), is doing what he typically does during campaign season. Like many aides, he has taken a two and a half month leave of absence from Congress to hit the campaign trail.

This time around, he has gone to work for Peter Roskam’s campaign, where he is taking over day-to-day operations. Roskam is a Republican candidate seeking to fill the retiring seat of House International Relations Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.). The Democratic candidate is Tammy Duckworth, a helicopter pilot who lost her legs in the Iraq war.

“I like to do my part to help the cause,” says Roe, explaining that in the last cycle he left to work on ex-Rep. Tom DeLay’s (R-Texas) campaign. He has also worked on the campaigns of Reps. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) and Steve Pearce (R-N.M.).

Roe says he has no permanent place to stay, so for the moment he’s residing in Chicago with some old college friends. “I’m in the process of finding an extended stay hotel,” he said. “Yesterday my commute was two hours. That’s not fun.”

Originally from Lansing, Mich., Roe, 36, is married to Patty Roe, chief of staff to Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.).

“As this is day two, a day in the life is a two hour commute and then organizing volunteers, meeting with staff and consultants as we plan strategy for the final two months.”

“So far, I’m looking at 12-13 hour days.”

Cantor’s press secretary moves to Conference

Geoff Embler, press secretary to Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is moving to the House Republican Conference, where he will be the chief spokesman.

Embler, 31, came to Cantor’s office in March of 2004, but left in July of that year to work on then-Rep. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) Senate campaign. Embler calls himself a “total political junkie,” and says he has been watching C-SPAN since he was young. He says he grew up discussing current events with his family.

As the result of being an Air Force brat, Embler was born in Japan and speaks Japanese. After Japan, he spent a good deal of his life in Sumter, S.C., and considers himself a “rabid Clemson Tigers and Carolina Panthers fan.”

After graduating from Clemson University, Embler moved to Washington in 1998 to the work for the National Republican Senatorial Committee to do opposition research. He also worked in the press office at the Department of Labor. In 2002 he worked on Tim Pawlenty’s (R) gubernatorial campaign. In 2003, he was press secretary for Rep. George Radanovich (R-Calif.).

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart promotes aide to legislative director

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) announced last Friday that he was promoting Lauren Robitaille to legislative director. Robitaille has worked in the congressman’s office since 2003 when she came to his office as an intern. She soon moved up the ranks to staff assistant.

Robitaille is a native of Stuart, Fla. and a graduate of the University of Florida.

Her chief responsibilities will be to craft the congressman’s legislative agenda, but she will continue to handle his Transportation Committee assignment in addition to handling healthcare, education, environment and commerce issues.