Jason C. Roe, chief of staff for Rep. Tom Feeney, an Orlando-area Republican, is leaving to become deputy campaign manager for GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.

Roe is an experienced Republican operative on Capitol Hill. Last year, he went on leave from Feeney's office to run the campaign of now-Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., who faced a stiff challenge from an Iraq war veteran, Democrat Tammy Duckworth.

Roe's hiring adds to Romney's already beefy ties to Florida's Republican establishment - including Feeney, who is serving as Romney's liaison to conservative activists.