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Beto O'Rourke presidential campaign staff, 2020
Date: November 3, 2020 |
 Donald Trump Joe Biden Howie Hawkins Jo Jorgensen
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Last updated July 2, 2019.
This page contains a list of Beto O'Rourke's national campaign staff and primary state directors. Staff are presented alongside their positions in the campaign, their most recent positions prior to the campaign, and their Twitter handles.
Click on the links below to navigate:
- Campaign staff in context
- Overview of O'Rourke's campaign
- National and state staff
- Notable staff departures
- O'Rourke in the news
Know of any staff we missed? Please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Visit Presidential election key staffers, 2020, to see our coverage of staff on other campaigns.
Here are links to the candidates' staff pages:
- Donald Trump (R)
- Joe Biden (D)
- Jo Jorgensen (L)
- Howie Hawkins (G)
Campaign staff in context
Campaign staff plays an important role in the presidential primaries. The makeup of a candidate's staff can signal the strength of their support from influential party activists and whether they are aligning with a particular faction or group within the party. Eric Appleman of Democracy in Action describes candidates' efforts to hire staffers as a "race for talent, both nationally and in key early states." He adds, "The goal is to assemble a team of top talent that can work together effectively to mobilize resources, boost the candidate and his or her message, and ultimately secure the party's nomination."[1]
Presidential candidates will typically have a national staff, which is overseen by a campaign manager and assisted by political consultants, senior advisors, professional polling firms, and key stakeholders such as interest group leaders and major financial supporters. They also build organizations in individual states that are overseen by state directors and staffed by party activists and political professionals well-versed in the particular politics of the area. Candidates often appoint elected officials and other important figures in their party's coalition as chairs of their national campaign and state-level campaigns.[1]
O'Rourke campaign overview
Robert "Beto" O'Rourke, a former U.S. representative from Texas, announced he was running for president of the United States on March 14, 2019.
In his first campaign video, O'Rourke discussed "investing in the dignity of work," establishing universal healthcare, and combating climate change. He also said of immigration, "If immigration is a problem, it's the best possible problem for this country to have and we should ensure that there are lawful paths to work, to be with family, and to flee persecution."[2]
O'Rourke served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. He ran for U.S. Senate against incumbent Ted Cruz (R) in 2018, losing by 2 percentage points.
Click here to read O'Rourke's responses to Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
National staff
The table below shows a sampling of the candidate's 2020 national campaign staff members, including the campaign manager and some senior advisors, political directors, communication directors, and field directors. It also includes each staff member's position in the campaign, previous work experience, and Twitter handle, where available.[3] For a larger list of national campaign staff, visit Democracy in Action.
| Beto O'Rourke presidential campaign national staff, 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff | Position | Prior experience | Twitter handle |
| Jennifer O'Malley Dillon | Campaign manager | Deputy campaign manager, Barack Obama for President of the United States, 2012 | @jomalleydillon |
| Rob Friedlander | Communications director | Senior advisor, Beto O'Rourke for United States Senate, 2018 | @robsfriedlander |
| Aleigha Cavalier | National press secretary | Communications director, NextGen America | @aleighacavalier |
| Adnan Mohamed | Political director | Deputy political director, Seth Moulton presidential campaign, 2020 | @AdnanFMohamed |
| Dan Sorenson | Finance director | National finance director, John Hickenlooper presidential campaign, 2020 | @dan_sorenson |
| Lauren Brainerd | Organizing director | Field director, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, 2018 | @LB_WIT |
State staff
The table below shows the candidate's 2020 early primary state directors and state communications directors. It also includes each staff member's position in the campaign, previous work experience, and Twitter handle, where available.[3] For a larger list of state campaign staff, visit Democracy in Action.
| Beto O'Rourke presidential campaign state staff, 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff | State | Position | Prior experience | Twitter handle |
| Norm Sterzenbach | Iowa | State director | Principal, GPS Impact | @nsterzenbach |
| Geoff Burgan | Iowa | Communications director | Senior communications advisor, Andrew Gillum for Governor of Florida, 2018 | @GeoffBurgan |
| Mike Ollen | New Hampshire | State director | State director to Sen. Maggie Hassan (D), 2017-2019 | @MikeOllen |
| Wyatt Ronan | New Hampshire | Communications director | Communications director, office of Rep. Chris Pappas | @jwyattronan |
| Lauren Harper | South Carolina | State director | Advisor for policy and communications, office of Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin | @laurenjhharper |
| Robyn Patterson | South Carolina | Communications director | Communications director to Rep. Steven Horsford (D) | @RM_Patterson |
| Marina Negroponte | Nevada | State director | Vice president of strategy and external affairs, We Are All Human | N/A |
Notable staff departures
The list below shows notable staff departures found in media reports.
| Beto O'Rourke presidential campaign staff, 2020 (Departures) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff | Previous position | Departure date | New position |
| Becky Bond | Advisor | April 20, 2019[4] | N/A |
| Zack Malitz | Advisor | April 20, 2019[4] | N/A |
O'Rourke in the news
- See also: Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing and Editorial approach to story selection for the Daily Presidential News Briefing
This section featured five news stories about O'Rourke and his presidential campaign. For a complete timeline of O'Rourke's campaign activity, click here.
- November 1, 2019: O'Rourke announced that he was dropping out of the presidential race. “My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee,” he said in a Medium post.
- October 30, 2019: O'Rourke attended an event in Newtown, Connecticut, on gun violence prevention.
- October 28, 2019: O'Rourke released his criminal justice plan, which would repeal portions of the 1994 crime bill, eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing, and invest $500 million into developing alternatives to incarceration.
- October 27, 2019: In an interview on Insiders, O'Rourke discussed his campaign strategy and reduced presence in Iowa.
- October 24, 2019: O'Rourke attended a televised town hall on Latino issues hosted by LULAC and Newsmax.
See also
- Presidential election key staffers, 2020
- Presidential candidates, 2020
- Democratic presidential nomination, 2020
- Republican presidential nomination, 2020
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Democracy in Action, "Building Campaign Organizations (2019)," accessed May 10, 2019
- ↑ YouTube, "Beto O'Rourke Announces 2020 Presidential Bid," March 14, 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Democracy in Action, "Organization," accessed November 4, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Buzzfeed News, "A Top Adviser To Beto O’Rourke Has Left His Presidential Campaign," April 20, 2019
