Ken Blackwell, the Ohio Republican selected by President-Elect Donald Trump to lead his domestic issues transition is an outspoken conservative with a history as a party maverick.Blackwell, according to a document obtained by Politico, is in charge of the Trump  action team  examining the departments of energy, environmental protection, labor, transportation, health and human services, housing and urban development, interior and agriculture.Blackwell backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the Republican primaries, but came aboard with Trump after he secured the nomination.Reached by The Cincinnati Enquirer, Blackwell said he could not discuss his duties because he had signed a non-disclosure agreement.Blackwell is familiar to Ohioans. He prevailed in an intra-party feud in 2006 to become Ohio s first black nominee for governor, but then lost in a lopsided race with Democrat Ted Strickland.He also took on fellow Republicans in the state Legislature while serving as secretary of state from 1999 to 2007. He also was state treasurer from 1994 to 1999.As chief elections officer, Blackwell played a pivotal role in administering the hotly-contested 2004 presidential election while serving as Republican George W. Bush s honorary campaign co-chair. Democrats alleged in political attacks and lawsuits that Blackwell supported vote-suppressing policies favoring Bush, who won the state and the election.Blackwell, a former Cincinnati mayor, is on the boards of the National Rifle Association and Club for Growth. He s also a senior fellow at the Family Research Council.Via: Dispatch