As likely Democratic nominee Joe Biden prepares to face President Trump in a general election, his campaign team has begun to bulk up staffing after running in the primary on a shoestring budget.
A flood of cash means a number of veteran campaign consultants and former White House staffers have flocked to the Biden camp after nearly a year of hesitation over whether his third White House bid was doomed.
Many of the highest-profile leaders of the campaign are relatively recent additions, coming after Biden’s victories on Super Tuesday and subsequent primaries.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Campaign Co-chair
Routinely speculated as a potential pick for vice president, Whitmer currently serves as the governor of Michigan. But Whitmer, who came into office on Jan. 1, 2019, didn’t join the campaign until March 5, just before the Michigan primary, which Biden won handily.
Jen O’Malley Dillon, Campaign Manager
Another late entry to Team Biden, O’Malley’s hiring was announced on March 12. Previously, O’Malley served as campaign manager for Beto O’Rourke’s failed 2020 run and as Barack Obama’s deputy campaign manager for his presidential reelection bid. Just over a week earlier, O’Rourke endorsed Biden’s candidacy for president.
Greg Shultz, Senior Adviser to Biden
An Obama White House veteran who worked for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, Schultz has worked with Biden since 2013. Although he boasted the title of campaign manager until March, he was quickly demoted after Dillon came aboard. For months, as Biden’s campaign faced heavy losses in the first three primary contests, many Democratic insiders pointed fingers at Schultz.
Anita Dunn, Senior Adviser to Biden
Another high-profile name on Biden’s campaign is Anita Dunn, who was promoted shortly after his fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses. Her elevation in the campaign came after a “reset” following the Iowa results, when many Democrats thought Biden was down for the count. Dunn previously held positions in the Obama White House as interim communications director and as a consultant for Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.
Symone Sanders, Senior Adviser to Biden
One of the more public-facing members of the Biden campaign, Sanders’s journey to the centrist faction of the Democratic Party is an interesting one. During the 2016 Democratic primaries, she served as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign press secretary but left without explanation in June of that year. Her addition to the Biden campaign is particularly interesting since she once scoffed at the idea of Democrats nominating another white man, saying, “We don’t need white people leading the Democratic Party right now,” on CNN in November of that year.
Katie Petrelius, National Finance Director
As the Biden campaign pivots toward a general-election operation, keep close tabs on Petrelius, who has overseen fundraising operations since Biden launched his third White House bid. Petrelius, who once worked as the director of development for the Biden Foundation and various Democratic Party organizations and campaigns in fundraising positions, will be largely responsible for raising a war chest to compete with Trump.
T.J. Ducklo, Senior Communications Director
Expect to see a lot of Ducklo as we march toward November. His first entry into politics, Ducklo previously worked in a variety of communications roles for media companies such as NBC and Bloomberg. He even had a yearlong stint as a producer for the political documentary series The Circus.
