Hillary Clinton presidential campaign key staff and advisors, 2016
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The staff and advisors for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign were a mixture of longtime Clinton advisors and newer staffers—like LaDavia Drane and Maya Harris—who came to the campaign after working on social justice issues. Although Clinton officially declared her candidacy on April 12, 2015, she already had a large pool of available staff and advisors from her long career in politics. Many high-profile positions in the campaign were filled with advisors who had worked for former President Bill Clinton (D). Pollster and chief strategist Joel Benenson did similar work in the Clinton administration, while John Podesta was Bill Clinton's chief of staff.
Clinton also pulled from her State Department and Senate staffs for her early campaign hires. Former body person and deputy chief of staff Huma Abedin began working with Clinton when she was first lady, while foreign policy advisor Jake Sullivan worked with Clinton in the State Department and on Clinton's 2008 campaign.
Yet for all the staff members with deep ties to Clinton, the 2016 campaign staff was notable for its relative newcomers. In 2007, The Washington Post described her circle of advisors—known as "Hillaryland" since her days as first lady—as a "closely knit Praetorian Guard around Clinton that plots strategy, develops message and clamps down on leaks."[1] The 2016 campaign less comfortably fit the "Hillaryland" mold. The most notable addition was campaign manager Robby Mook, whose campaign approach was to "test everything, question assumptions and let data drive things."[2] The additions of Marlon Marshall and Jim Margolis, both of whom used similar campaigning techniques with Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, added to the newer feel of Clinton's 2016 run.
Key campaign staff members
The following tables detail the key staff and advisors Ballotpedia identified for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. These staff tables are divided based on campaign roles. The leftmost column indicates the individual staff member or advisor. The middle column details that individual's relationship to Clinton's 2016 campaign. The final column indicates the individual's experience prior to working on Clinton's presidential run. More detailed profiles of individuals can be found by clicking the links in the leftmost column.
Management and strategy
| Individual | Role | Previous Experience |
|---|---|---|
| Robby Mook | Campaign manager | •Executive director and political director, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee •Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential •Jeanne Shaheen 2008 U.S. Senate •Terry McAuliffe 2013 gubernatorial |
| Joel Benenson | Chief strategist and pollster | •Bill Clinton 1996 presidential •New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey 2002 gubernatorial •Rep. Anthony Weiner 2005 mayoral •President Barack Obama 2008 and 2012 presidential •Co-founder and CEO of Benenson Strategy Group |
| Amanda Renteria | Political director | •Legislative aide, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) •Chief of staff, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) •Amanda Renteria 2014 U.S. House |
| John Podesta | Campaign chairman | •Counsel, Senate Judiciary Committee •Chief of staff, former President Bill Clinton •President and founder, Center for American Progress •Counselor, President Barack Obama •Visiting professor, Georgetown University Law Center •Chairman, Hillary for America PAC |
| Huma Abedin | Vice chair | •Aide, Office of First Lady Hillary Clinton •Aide, Office of Sen. Hillary Clinton •Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential •Deputy chief of staff, Office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton |
Communications
| Individual | Role | Previous Experience |
|---|---|---|
| Jennifer Palmieri | Communications director | •President Barack Obama •Former President Bill Clinton •Leon Panetta •John Edwards 2004 and 2008 presidential •National press secretary Democratic National Committee •President of the Center for American Progress Fund •Senior vice president of Center for American Progress |
| Jim Margolis | Media advisor | •Barack Obama 2008 and 2012 presidential •Bill Clinton 1992 presidential •Partner, GMMB •Former Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) •Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) •Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) •Former Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) •Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) •John Kerry 2004 presidential |
Policy and outreach
| Individual | Role | Previous Experience |
|---|---|---|
| Jake Sullivan | Senior policy advisor | •Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential •Barack Obama 2008 presidential •Director of policy planning, State Department •National security advisor, Office of Vice President Joe Biden •Faculty, Yale Law School |
| Marlon Marshall | Director of state campaigns and political engagement | •John Kerry 2004 presidential •Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential •Barack Obama 2008 and 2012 presidential and White House administration •Co-founder, 270 Strategies •National field director, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee |
| Maya Harris | Senior policy advisor | •ACLU of Northern California •Ford Foundation •Center for American Progress |
| LaDavia Drane | Congressional liaison | •Barack Obama 2008 presidential •Grocery Manufacturers Association •Deputy chief of staff, Office of Marcia Fudge •Executive director, Congressional Black Caucus •Director of federal-regional affairs, Office of Muriel Bowser |
State directors
| Individual | State | Previous Experience |
|---|---|---|
| Emmy Ruiz | Colorado | •Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential •Young Democrats of America •Democratic National Committee •Organizing for America •Barack Obama 2012 presidential •Organizing for Action •Annie's List |
| Simone Ward | Florida | •Democratic GAIN •Democratic National Committee •EMILY's List •Barbara Mikulski 2010 U.S. Senate •Natalie Tennant 2014 U.S. Senate •Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee |
| Kane Miller | Iowa | •Barack Obama 2008 presidential •Organizing for America •Barack Obama 2012 presidential •Dan Maffei 2014 U.S. House |
| Walt Herzig | Michigan | •U.S. Sen. Carl Levin •Jennifer Granholm 2006 gubernatorial •Democratic Party of Michigan •Chief of staff, Lt. Gov. John Cherry •Virg Bernero 2010 gubernatorial •U.S. Rep. Sandy Levin |
| Mackenzie Taylor | Minnesota | •Pakou Hang 2007 St. Paul City Council •Ashwin Madia 2008 U.S. House •Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota •Margaret Kelliher 2010 gubernatorial •Minnesota Association of Public Employees |
| Jorge Neri | Nevada | •Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights •United Food and Commercial Workers •Center for Community Change •Barack Obama 2012 presidential •White House Office of Public Engagement |
| Mike Vlacich | New Hampshire | •Bill Clinton 1992 presidential •Bill Clinton 1996 presidential •Office of Gov. Jeanne Shaheen •Democratic Party of New Hampshire •John Lynch 2004 gubernatorial •Office of Gov. John Lynch •New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development •Office of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen •Jeanne Shaheen 2014 U.S. Senate |
| Troy Clair | North Carolina | •Congressional Black Caucus Foundation •21st Century Democrats •Office of Rep. Steny Hoyer •U.S. Department of Treasury •Office of Rep. G.K. Butterfield |
| Chris Wyant | Ohio | •Barack Obama 2008 presidential •White House presidential personnel office •U.S. Trade and Development Agency •Barack Obama 2012 presidential •Managing director, Enroll America •Executive director, Progressive Coalition for American Jobs |
| Corey Dukes | Pennsylvania | •Claire McCaskill 2006 U.S. Senate •Barack Obama 2008 presidential •Jay Nixon 2008 gubernatorial •Claire McCaskill 2012 U.S. Senate •Allyson Schwartz 2014 gubernatorial |
| Brian Zuzenak | Virginia | •Missouri Legislative Caucus •State of Tennessee •Judy Baker 2008 U.S. House •Executive director, Democratic Party of Missouri •Kate Marshall 2011 U.S. House •Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee •Common Good VA PAC |
| Jake Hajdu | Wisconsin | •John Edwards 2008 presidential •Kelda Roys 2008 Wisconsin State Assembly •Democratic Party of Wisconsin |
Other campaign staff members
The following is a list of other staff members who are working on Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.[3]
- Cheryl Mills: Mills, a senior advisor to the 2016 campaign, previously worked with Bill Clinton in the White House, with Hillary Clinton at the State Department, and on Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign as general counsel.
- John Anzalone and David Binder: Two pollsters who assisted Joel Benenson in polling. Both men had previously worked with Barack Obama.
- Tony Carrk: The former vice president of policy and research with the Center for American Progress (CAP) action fund directed research for the campaign.
- Charlie Baker: A longtime Democratic strategist, Baker acted as the campaign's chief administrative officer.
- Marc Elias: Elias was the campaign's general counsel.
- Dennis Cheng: The former chief development officer for the Clinton Foundation, Cheng was the campaign's finance director.
- Mandy Grunwald: Grunwald was a senior media consultant for Clinton's 2016 campaign. She had previously worked on Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign and Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Hillary Clinton Campaign Staff. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Hillary Clinton
- Hillary Clinton presidential campaign key staff and advisors experience, 2016
- Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016
External links
Footnotes
