Jeff Weaver
| Jeff Weaver | |||
 | |||
| Basic facts | |||
| Organization: | Victory Comics | ||
| Role: | Owner | ||
| Location: | Falls Church, Va. | ||
| Affiliation: | Democratic | ||
| Education: | •University of Vermont •Georgetown University Law School | ||
| Website: | Official website | ||
| |||
Jeff Weaver is a Democratic political advisor. He was a senior advisor to Dean Phillips' (D) 2024 presidential campaign. During the 2016 election cycle, Weaver served as the campaign manager for Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign; after the election, Weaver served as the president of Our Revolution, a nonprofit established by Sanders, until June 2017. Before the presidential run, Weaver was Sanders' chief of staff and congressional campaign manager. He is also the owner of Victory Comics, a comic book store in Falls Church, Virginia.[1]
For Sanders' 2020 campaign, Weaver returned in the position of senior advisor. Faiz Shakir was selected as campaign manager. To read more about the 2020 presidential campaign, click here.
Click on the links below to read more about related content:
- Click here to learn more about Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.
- Click here to learn more about other 2016 presidential campaign managers.
- Click here to learn more about trending topics on Ballotpedia's homepage.
Career
Early career
Weaver graduated from the University of Vermont and Georgetown Law School, during which he began working, as a volunteer, for Bernie Sanders' gubernatorial campaign in 1986.[2][3]
A Vermont native, Weaver worked for Sanders as a legislative assistant while Sanders was in the U.S. House.[3] Weaver was campaign manager for Sanders' 2006 Senate campaign and, subsequently, became his chief of staff.[4][3]
Victory Comics
In 2010, Weaver left Sanders' office and started a comic book store in Falls Church, Virginia, called Victory Comics.[5][6] Weaver rejoined Sanders to manage his 2016 presidential campaign but remained active with Victory Comics.[7]
Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2020
In January 2019, it was announced that Weaver would not return as Sanders' campaign manager for the 2020 presidential campaign. Weaver instead served in the role of senior advisor.[8]
Statement on candidates dropping out and endorsing Joe Biden before Super Tuesday
Weaver and campaign manager Faiz Shakir released a memo criticizing Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar for ending their presidential campaigns and endorsing Joe Biden ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries. They called the move an effort to "coalesce the Washington establishment and its big donors around his campaign to protect the status quo." They also said that "the choice in the Democratic primary is now crystal clear: voters face a decision between Bernie's working-class movement and his message of change, and Biden's effort to—in his own words—make sure that 'nothing will fundamentally change' for the billionaire class that buys elections."[9]
Statement on financial support from Michael Bloomberg
Following the Democratic debate on February 25, 2020, reporters asked Weaver if Sanders would accept financial support from fellow candidate Michael Bloomberg in a general election campaign. "It's a hard no. Bernie has said he's going to fund his presidential campaign with small-dollar contributions, and I think we can do that. I think we can raise over a billion dollars in small-dollar contributions," Wever said.[10]
Other campaign staff
- See also: Bernie Sanders presidential campaign staff, 2020, Presidential election key staffers, 2020, and Presidential campaign managers, 2020
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.[11] For a larger list of national campaign staff, visit Democracy in Action.
| Bernie Sanders presidential campaign national staff, 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff | Position | Prior experience | Twitter handle |
| Faiz Shakir | Campaign manager | National political director, American Civil Liberties Union | @fshakir |
| Jeff Weaver | Senior advisor | Campaign manager, Bernie Sanders for President of the United States, 2016 | N/A |
| Chuck Rocha | Senior advisor | Advisor, Bernie Sanders for President of the United States, 2016 | @ChuckRocha |
| Analilia Mejia | Political director | Director, New Jersey Working Families Alliance | N/A |
| Claire Sandberg | Organizing director | Deputy campaign manager, Abdul El-Sayed for Governor of Michigan, 2018 | @clairesandberg |
| Becca Rast | National field director | Campaign manager, Jess King for Congress, 2018 | @beccarast |
| René Spellman | Deputy campaign manager | Executive, CAA Foundation | N/A |
| Arianna Jones | Deputy campaign manager and communications director | Senior vice president of PR, Revolution Messaging | @ariannaijones |
| Ari Rabin-Havt | Deputy campaign manager and chief of staff | Deputy chief of staff, office of Sen. Bernie Sanders | @AriRabinHavt |
| Briahna Joy Gray | National press secretary | Columnist and political editor, The Intercept, Contributing editor, Current Affairs | @briebriejoy |
Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2016
In May 2015, it was announced that longtime supporter and staffer Jeff Weaver would become campaign manager for Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.[12]
Statement on Hillary Clinton as vice president
Weaver alluded to Hillary Clinton being a potential vice presidential nominee for Sanders in a sardonic tone during an interview with Bloomberg Politics in October 2015: "Look, she'd make a great vice president. We're willing to give her more credit than Obama did. We're willing to consider her for vice president. We'll give her serious consideration. We'll even interview her."[13] His comments elicited blowback both within and outside of the Sanders campaign, including from Sanders himself, who told MSNBC "You know, I think that every campaign has statements come out which are inappropriate. That was inappropriate."[14]
Voter data breach
In January 2016, Weaver also received criticism regarding his handling of a data breach in which members of the Sanders campaign gained access to the Clinton campaign's proprietary voter data. Specifically, according to the New York Times, "reporters and political watchers braced for an apology" but Weaver "stood before the cameras and portrayed his campaign as victims of a voracious Democratic National Committee."[7] The paper went on to note, "But the person delivering the message, Mr. Weaver is a long-trusted adviser to Mr. Sanders, who has developed a reputation inside and outside his campaign as a hard-changing operative often willing to go further than the candidate himself, with his handling of the data breach one more instance of top Sanders advisers getting under the skin of the Clinton campaign."[7]
Comments on nomination
After the Democratic debate on January 17, 2016, Weaver was confident about Sanders' chances of winning the nomination, telling CNBC "this campaign is going all the way to the convention."[15]
Comments on building a coalition
When Mother Jones wrote that "building a coalition that can win a delegate contest might require some kind of superhuman effort" for the campaign, Weaver compared Sanders to Superman, telling the outlet "Truth, justice, and the American way—that's Bernie. It's also associated with Superman; I didn't just come up with that."[16]
Clinton endorsement
After Sanders formally endorsed Clinton in July 2016, Weaver expressed his own support for Clinton in an interview with Politico. Weaver said that, although he would not join Clinton's campaign staff, he would help organize votes for Clinton. He said, "Like the senator I am fully behind the secretary and certainly I will make known to all the Bernie supporters around this country who know me very well -- and have received emails from me from the last year plus -- that I am certainly on fully on board as well."[17]
Our Revolution
In August 2016, Weaver became the president of Our Revolution, a nonprofit organization established by Bernie Sanders to further his political agenda after the 2016 elections. Weaver was initially slated to be the group's legal advisor, but before the group's launch, Jane Sanders asked Weaver to take on the role of president. According to Politico, "Weaver said he had a vision that included more traditional — not just grassroots — fundraising" for the organization, a perspective that was not in-line with most of the organization's staff. After Weaver was named president, at least six staff members quit.[1]
Weaver left the organization in June 2017.[18]
See also
- Sample Ballot Lookup
- Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2020
- Bernie Sanders presidential campaign staff, 2020
- Presidential candidates, 2020
- Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2016
- Bernie Sanders presidential campaign key staff and advisors, 2016
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Politico, "Bernie Sanders' new group is already in turmoil," August 23, 2016
- ↑ Missisquoi Valley Union High School, "Alumni," accessed June 15, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bernie 2016, "Sanders Announces Campaign Management Team With Strong Vermont, Grassroots Experience," May 15, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "The power players behind Bernie Sanders' campaign," May 26, 2015
- ↑ Fall Church Times, "Man About Town: For Men and Boys Only," March 8, 2010
- ↑ Bernie Sanders United States Senator for Vermont," March 8, 2010
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 New York Times, "Top Bernie Sanders Aide Rankles Those In and Out of Campaign," December 29, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "Jeff Weaver will not return as Bernie Sanders' campaign manager in 2020," January 9, 2019
- ↑ Common Dreams, "'Organized Money vs. Organized People': New Sanders Memo Details Stark Choice Between Biden and Bernie," March 3, 2020
- ↑ NBC News, "Sanders' campaign rejects Bloomberg's help in general election: 'It's a hard no,'" February 26, 2020
- ↑ Democracy in Action, "Organization," accessed November 4, 2019
- ↑ Vermont Public Radio, "Two Sanders Allies Join Campaign Leadership," May 15, 2015
- ↑ Bloomberg Politics, "The Sanders Brain Trust's Plan to Beat Hillary Clinton," October 28, 2015
- ↑ MSNBC, "Bernie Sanders calls aide’s comments on Clinton ‘inappropriate’," October 29, 2015
- ↑ CNBC, "Does Bernie Sanders actually want to be president?" January 19, 2016
- ↑ Mother Jones, "Meet the Comic Book King Running Bernie Sanders' Campaign," July 16, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Sanders' top aide to help organize votes for Clinton," July 13, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Turner replaces Weaver as Our Revolution president," June 29, 2017
