Hillary Clinton has hired new black coalitions director LaDavia Drane, to conduct research on black voters for her 2016 presidential campaign.
Drane will serve as the primary liaison between the campaign and the African-American community nationwide, according to Buzzfeed News. Drane will join Clinton’s national political team, working alongside political director Amanda Renteria, deputy national director Brynne Craig and director of state campaigns and political engagement Marlon Marshall.
Barack Obama not only won overwhelming majorities among black and Hispanic voters in 2008 and 2012, he was able to turn out minorities in record numbers. Clinton is working to recreate this diverse coalition in 2016, after doing poorly among black voters during the 2008 Democratic primaries.
During a recent trip to South Carolina, Clinton courted minority voters by playing up her economic policy. In Texas earlier this month, the Democratic front-runner introduced her plans to expand voting rights and fight voter ID laws.
Prior to joining the campaign, Drane was the executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus and worked in the Washington, D.C. mayor’s office serving as the director of federal and regional Affairs. She is scheduled to start work on the campaign in late June.
