The Trump campaign is filling out its campaign team and grabbing defectors from his previous rivals.
Donald Trump hired Vincent Harris, previous digital strategist for Sen. Rand Paul, as the Republican nominee focuses on ramping up his digital campaign.
Trump also hired the services of Harris Media, Harris’s Austin-based firm, to increase fundraising, Politico noted. Trump will begin building a “small dollar operation” to stay competitive, according to Politico. Last week, Trump sent out his first fundraising email to his supporters.
It is not clear what role Harris will hold in Trump’s campaign, considering that Brad Parscale was recently named Trump’s digital director. Harris may be in his 20s, but he is no stranger to utilizing digital media in political campaigning.
Harris is no rookie. Bloomberg has referred to him as “the man who invented the Republican internet.” Harris assisted in running online operations for former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich in 2012. He also worked for Ted Cruz during his Senate campaign and Mitch McConnell’s re-election campaign.
During the re-election campaign of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris worked digital operations for Netanyahu’s Likud Party. Though he was expected to serve Cruz’s campaign, he joined the ranks of Rand Paul last year.
He has tapped into the power of social media to get candidates’ messages out and amplify their campaigns.
“A campaign looking to spend money wisely, and perhaps more frugally, needs to produce content that has a viral tinge to it,” Harris wrote in a post-campaign analysis. He understands that most voters will be looking toward social media and the internet for information. This advice is especially applicable to Trump’s campaign, which has been relatively frugal when it comes to traditional campaigning methods.
Harris’s Twitter feed has recently become positive in regards to Trump, according to GOP digital experts. Getting paid can have that effect.
