Kalshi has appointed Tony Hanagan as the prediction market platform’s new head of congressional affairs.
Hanagan joins the company after amassing 12 years of experience working in the US Senate.
He first joined the institution as a Republican cloakroom assistant in May 2014, a role he would hold until March 2020.
From there, he served as a Republican floor assistant from March 2020 to October 2021, before rising to the rank of senior Republican floor assistant and holding that position until May 2026.
Writing on LinkedIn about his new role, Hanagan said: “I started in the Senate as a page when I was 16 years old. I learned what it was like to be in the middle of everything on the Senate floor. I wanted to work there. Kalshi is innovating the world today. I want to work here.
“Why Kalshi? Why did this Senate lifer make the jump? I’ve spent my career as ‘Cloakroom Tony’ answering questions about what’s next: When are we voting? What are we voting on? Will that live UC really pass? Do you have an objector? What’s the House doing? Are we winning? And everyone’s favourite question… is this the last vote?
“I got pretty good at it and could usually give Senators the best update possible. Then I found Kalshi, where ‘what’s next?’ isn’t just a Cloakroom question, it’s the whole product. By letting people trade on the events they care about across politics, culture, the economy, and the world, Kalshi turns the wisdom of the crowd into real-time odds that get us closer to the truth.
“I found myself looking up the Kalshi odds on Congressional races before going to traditional polling. I looked at what the markets were saying live as Congress was responding to world events at the same time.”
Hanagan becomes the latest Kalshi appointment in the political liaison department.
The New York-based firm hired Blake Bee as its director of state government relations back in January.
Hanagan continued: “Kalshi is changing everything through the power of markets. Our co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara have created the largest legal prediction market in the US, and they have gone about doing it the right way: with a regulatory first approach from day one.
“Kalshi is paving the way for good policy in the industry by working with policymakers to ensure consumers are protected and prediction markets can remain safe while innovating in the US. In my career in DC, I have seen how conversations around new industries and emerging markets can become polarised before they are fully understood.
“But through education and consensus-building, the debate can shift from often-reflexive skepticism to a more thoughtful discussion about how to balance innovation and responsibility. Kalshi is stepping up to work with regulators and lead this conversation.
“They believe in responsible innovation – balancing individual responsibility with the proper consumer safeguards. They want to work with Congress to get it right. This approach will take Kalshi to the next phase. I’m excited to be part of that work.”
The firm’s ongoing fight against state regulators has intensified over recent months.
In April, Kalshi was handed a $5m fine by Ohio lawmakers for allegedly providing an unlicenced sports betting product in the state.
Earlier in the month, a federal judge blocked Arizona from pursuing its criminal case against Kalshi by granting a temporary restraining order requested by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Last week, Kalshi announced the completion of $1bn Series F funding round which secured the company a $22bn valuation.
Arnold Ash is EGR’s executive recruitment partner. It supports ambitious organisations to identify and attract industry leading executive talent. Find out more here.
The post Kalshi appoints political veteran as head of congressional affairs first appeared on EGR Intel.
Tony Hanagan joins the prediction market platform after 12 years working in the US Senate
The post Kalshi appoints political veteran as head of congressional affairs first appeared on EGR Intel.