Campaign manager

Campaign managers oversee political campaigns in all aspects. While the role's responsibilities vary between campaigns, they typically include staff hiring, fundraising, media presence and political strategy. According to Wellstone Action, a progressive political training group, "Campaign managers must have excellent organizational skills, be level-headed, have good interpersonal skills and not be afraid of raising money." Increasingly, the role involves understanding polling data and voter analytics. Jim Messina, campaign manager for President Barack Obama's (D) 2012 re-election, noted the change in a campaign manager's role: "I think the days where you sit back in a back room and smoke cigars and say, ‘this is how you win Waukesha’—those days are over. I’ve been doing this 20 years, and a lot of what is in politics is sheer B.S. It’s people’s opinions giving answers to questions that are actually quantifiable."

See also

• Political director
• Political strategist
• Campaign communications