Brian Zuzenak

Brian Zuzenak
Basic facts
Location:	Washington, D.C.
Affiliation:	Democrat
Education:	Missouri State University
Prior Experience •Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential •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

Brian Zuzenak was the Virginia state director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. Zuzenak has worked on a myriad of Democratic campaigns and political committees over the years.

Zuzenak was first reported to have joined Clinton's campaign in May 2016.

At the time of his hiring, he was also the executive director of Common Good VA PAC, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's political action committee.

Zuzenak previously directed campaigns in Missouri and was the deputy executive director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Career

Early career

While still a student at Missouri State University, Brian Zuzenak got involved in politics working on state legislative races. He also interned with State Rep. Chris Liese. After graduating, Zuzenak worked for the legislative caucuses in Missouri in 2002 before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. In Nashville, he worked for the state government, spending time as a consultant for the state's Enterprise Resource Planning system.

Missouri politics

In 2008, Zuzenak returned to Missouri to manage the U.S. House campaign of Judy Baker (D). Baker won the Democratic primary election but lost to Blaine Luetkemeyer (R) in the general election. She received 47.5 percent of the votes, finishing 8,144 votes behind Luetkemeyer. Speaking to Politico in 2008, Zuzenak said of Baker's campaign, "[T]he big point of Judy’s campaign is that there are a lot of people that want to divide us, but there’s really not a big split. The issues are the same for rural and suburban folks."

After Baker's campaign, Zuzenak was appointed as executive director of the Democratic Party of Missouri. Speaking of the 2010 election cycle with Missouri blog Show Me Progress, Zuzenak said, "You know we do have this top tier U.S. Senate race, which I think in and of itself is a huge draw for folks to come in and start working in state. But also, just the sheer volume of, of state legislative races that we have going on, there’s lots of ways for people to get engaged who have never been engaged before, and, and take an opportunity to run a state House race or be engaged that way."

Kate Marshall 2011 U.S. House campaign

During a 2011 special election, Zuzenak managed Kate Marshall's (D) U.S. House campaign to represent Nevada's 2nd Congressional District. Marshall lost the election to Mark Amodei (R).

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

See also: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Zuzenak worked for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) from 2011 to 2014, first as a regional political director. For the 2014 cycle, he was promoted to the role of political director where he managed the DCCC's incumbent protection program, according to The Hill.

Common Good VA PAC

In late 2014, Zuzenak became the director of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's PAC, Common Good VA. Speaking with The Washington Post in May 2015, Zuzenak described the PAC's spending in Virginia elections, focusing on early spending on data collection. He said, "We’ve been very clear from the get-go that the governor is going to be very aggressive in the Democratic Party and for Democratic candidates. ... Making data investments late is not very helpful. I think the governor did this in ’13, where they spent good chunks on the front end. ... It’s not like we’re re-inventing the wheel over here. We’re taking a lot of what worked in the governor’s race and implementing it long-term for Democrats in Virginia."

Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016

See also: Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016

Brian Zuzenak joined Clinton's campaign in May 2016. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that Zuzenak's duties would include "oversee organizing, communications, and political field operations in the commonwealth leading up to the November election."

In June 2016, Zuzenak told The Washington Post of the Clinton campaign strategy in the state. He said, "Our staff has extensive experience in Virginia, and we’re working with the coordinated campaign to recruit volunteers, connect with supporters, and build the personal relationships with voters that mark successful campaigns here." Speaking to ABC News in August 2016 about Clinton choosing Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) as her vice presidential pick, Zuzenak said, "He's a benefit to us on the ticket. In a battleground state like Virginia, it's all about the margins."

See also

• Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016
• Presidential election in Virginia, 2016

External links

• Brian Zuzenak on Twitter