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Jennifer O'Malley Dillon
 2024 Kamala Harris presidential campaign | ||
Affiliation: Democratic | ||
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Jennifer O'Malley Dillon was campaign chairwoman for the 2024 Kamala Harris presidential campaign. She was the campaign chairwoman for the 2024 Joe Biden presidential campaign before he withdrew from the presidential race. O'Malley Dillon formerly served as the White House deputy chief of staff in the Biden administration.[1] O'Malley Dillon was the campaign manager for President Joe Biden's (D) 2020 presidential campaign.[2]
She previously worked as the campaign manager for Beto O'Rourke's (D) 2020 presidential campaign. She was the battleground states director for Barack Obama's (D) 2008 presidential campaign and the deputy campaign manager for his 2012 re-election campaign. O'Malley Dillon also worked on campaigns for John Edwards (D), Jim Davis (D-Fla.), Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Francis Slay (D-Mo.), and Al Gore (D).[3]
Career
O'Malley Dillon began her political career answering phones for Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger.[4] In 1999, she moved on to Gore's 2000 presidential campaign, working as a volunteer coordinator, field organizer, and regional field director. She managed a St. Louis mayoral campaign for Slay in 2001 before working as field director on U.S. Senate campaigns for Johnson and Landrieu in 2002. O'Malley Dillon was a field director for Edwards' Iowa caucus campaign in 2003 for the 2004 presidential election. In 2004, she was deputy campaign manager for Daschle's Senate re-election campaign, and in 2006, she managed Davis' Florida gubernatorial campaign. She worked as Iowa state director and later deputy campaign manager for Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign.[3][4]
O'Malley Dillon joined the Obama presidential campaign as battleground states director in 2008.[3] She was also the associate director of personnel for Obama's 2008 presidential transition team.[5] From 2009 until 2010, she was the executive director of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). She was the deputy campaign manager for Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.[3]
O'Malley Dillon co-founded Precision Strategies in 2013.[3] She became lead consultant to Canadian Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau before Canada's 2015 election.[5] From 2017 until 2018, she was chair of the DNC's Unity Reform Commission.[3][6]
O'Malley Dillon graduated with a degree in political science from Tufts University in 1998.[4]
Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign
- See also: Joe Biden presidential campaign, 2020
Campaign strategy
Biden hired O'Malley Dillon as his campaign manager in March 2020 as the Democratic presidential primary narrowed to Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). She replaced Greg Schultz, who remained with the campaign in an advisory role.[7][8]
CNN reported, "The hiring of O'Malley Dillon is also designed to professionalize the Biden campaign as well as send a message to Democratic donors and supporters that the former vice president is adding structure to his team." CNN also described O'Malley Dillon as "one of the party's sharpest data experts."[7]
Key staff members
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.[9] For a larger list of national campaign staff, visit Democracy in Action.
| Joe Biden presidential national campaign staff, 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff | Position | Prior experience | Twitter handle |
| Jennifer O'Malley Dillon | Campaign manager | Campaign manager, Beto O'Rourke for President of the United States, 2020 | @jomalleydillon |
| Kate Bedingfield | Deputy campaign manager and communications director | Vice president of communications, Monumental Sports & Entertainment | @KBeds |
| Pete Kavanaugh | Deputy campaign manager | President of Revolution Field Strategies | @petekavanaugh |
| Rufus Gifford | Deputy campaign manager | Finance director, Barack Obama for President of the United States, 2012 | @rufusgifford |
| Natalie Quillian | Deputy campaign manager | Partner and principal, Boston Consulting Group | N/A |
| Zeppa Kreager | Chief of staff | Director, Creative Allliance at Civic Nation | @ZeppaKreager |
| Anita Dunn | Senior advisor | Managing director, SKDKnickerbocker | N/A |
| Greg Schultz | General election strategist and senior advisor | Executive director, American Possibilities PAC | @schultzohio |
| Symone Sanders | Senior advisor | Strategist and CNN political commentator | @SymoneDSanders |
| Cristóbal Alex | Senior advisor | President, Latino Victory Project | @CristobalJAlex |
| Brandon English | Senior advisor | Senior advisor, GPS IMPACT | @brandonenglish |
| Julie Chavez Rodriguez | Senior advisor | Co-national political director, Kamala Harris for the People | N/A |
| Karine Jean-Pierre | Senior advisor | Political analyst, MSNBC; chief public affairs officer, MoveOn | @K_JeanPierre |
| Erin Wilson | Political director | State director, Sen. Bob Casey | N/A |
| Kurt Bagley | National organizing director | National field director, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee | @kurt_bagley |
| Jamal Brown | National press secretary | Consultant, Civic Advisors | @JTOBrown |
| TJ Ducklo | National press secretary | Senior communications director, NBC News | @TDucklo |
| Remi Yamamoto | Traveling national press secretary | Communications director, Fred Hubbell for Governor of Iowa, 2018 | @RemiMYamamoto |
| Saloni Multani | Chief financial officer | Venture partner, Congruent Ventures | N/A |
| Deanna Nesburg | Senior advisor for financial operations | Treasurer, Kamala Harris for the People | N/A |
| Katie Petrelius | National finance director | Director of development, Biden Foundation | N/A |
| Rob Flaherty | Digital director | Digital director, Beto O'Rourke for President of the United States, 2020 | @Rob_Flaherty |
Beto O'Rourke 2020 presidential campaign
Campaign strategy
In May 2019, O'Malley Dillon said that delegate strategy was one of the "most critical elements" of the campaign, stating, "That's how you're going to win." She said that the campaign's hiring of former Hillary Clinton delegate operations consultant Jeff Berman as senior advisor for delegate strategy was a sign that the campaign was taking delegate strategy seriously.[3][10]
In a statement to the Texas Tribune quoted in a July 2019 article, O'Malley Dillon said, "Beto’s determination and ability to connect with people on the ground is unmatched, and that’s what it’ll take to assemble a coalition of voters, many who feel left behind by our current political system, to show up. That’s how we beat Donald Trump and move this country forward."[11]
Key staff members
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.[9] 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 |
Media
This section contains media coverage, interviews, and profiles of O'Malley Dillon.
Videos
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Interviews and profiles
- Women For Election, "WFE Guest Jen O'Malley Dillon on Newstalk 23/04/14," April 23, 2014
- Time, "40 Under 40: Jennifer O'Malley Dillon," October 14, 2010
- The Morning Sun, "Mass. native helps whittle 300,000 applications for Obama hires," December 18, 2008
Political analysis
See also
- Joe Biden presidential appointee
- Joe Biden presidential campaign, 2020
- Beto O'Rourke
- Beto O'Rourke presidential campaign, 2020
- Beto O'Rourke presidential campaign staff, 2020
- Presidential candidates, 2020
- Presidential campaign managers, 2020
- Barack Obama
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Build Back Better, "President-elect Joe Biden Announces Members of White House Senior Staff," November 17, 2020
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Joe Biden appoints Jen O’Malley Dillon as new campaign manager," March 12, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Democracy in Action, "Beto for America," accessed August 20, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Morning Sun, "Mass. native helps whittle 300,000 applications for Obama hires," December 18, 2008
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Precision Strategies, "Jen O’Malley Dillon," accessed August 21, 2019
- ↑ Democratic National Committee, "Unity Reform Commission," accessed August 21, 2019
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 CNN, "Joe Biden hires Jen O'Malley Dillon as campaign manager in staff shakeup," March 12, 2020
- ↑ NBC News, "Biden's former campaign manager shifts to general-election role," accessed November 18, 2020
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Democracy in Action, "Organization," accessed November 4, 2019
- ↑ BuzzFeed News, "Beto O’Rourke Has Hired The 'Unsung Hero' Of Obama’s First Campaign," May 9, 2019
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "Jen O'Malley Dillon is a star Democratic operative. Can she save Beto O'Rourke's candidacy?" July 26, 2019
