Kirsten Gillibrand presidential campaign staff, 2020
Date: November 3, 2020 |
 Donald Trump Joe Biden Howie Hawkins Jo Jorgensen
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Last updated August 28, 2019.
This page contains a list of Kirsten Gillibrand's campaign staff alongside their positions in the campaign, their most recent positions prior to the campaign, and their Twitter handles.
The list of campaign staff has been curated from the website Democracy in Action and Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing.
Click on the links below to navigate:
- Campaign staff in context
- Overview of Gillibrand's campaign
- National and state staff
- Gillibrand 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."[2]
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.[2]
Gillibrand campaign overview
Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from New York, launched an exploratory committee on January 15, 2019, and formally declared her candidacy on March 17, 2019.[3]
On August 28, 2019, Gillibrand suspended her presidential campaign.[4]
Gillibrand focused her campaign on economic and social issues, including addressing sexual assault in the military, healthcare for 9/11 first responders, increasing transparency in politics, Medicare for All, and universal paid family leave.[5][6]
Prior to serving in the U.S. Senate, Gillibrand represented New York's 20th Congressional District in the U.S. House.[7]
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.[8] For a larger list of national campaign staff, visit Democracy in Action.
| Kirsten Gillibrand presidential campaign national staff, 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff | Position | Prior experience | Twitter handle |
| Jess Fassler | Campaign manager | Chief of staff, office of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand | N/A |
| Dan McNally | Senior advisor; Campaign director | Political director, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee | N/A |
| Semedrian Smith | National political director | Deputy campaign manager, Sherrod Brown for United States Senate, 2018 | N/A |
| Meredith Kelly | Communications director | Communications director, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee | @meredithk27 |
| Evan Lukaske | National press secretary | Regional press secretary, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee | @lukaske |
| Stefanie Conahan | National finance director | Senior national finance adviser to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand | N/A |
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.[8] For a larger list of state campaign staff, visit Democracy in Action.
| Kirsten Gillibrand presidential campaign state staff, 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff | State | Position | Prior experience | Twitter handle |
| Lara Henderson | Iowa | State director | Finance director, Fred Hubbell for Governor of Iowa, 2018 | @lara_marie14 |
| Pat Devney | New Hampshire | State director | Campaign manager, Joe Manchin for United States Senate, 2018 | N/A |
| Rachel Irwin | Iowa | Communications director | Midwest press secretary, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee | @rachelgirwin |
| Sarah Guggenheimer | New Hampshire | Communications director | Director of communications, New Hampshire Democratic Party | @sarah_guggs |
Gillibrand 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 Gillibrand and her presidential campaign. For a complete timeline of Gillibrand's campaign activity, click here.
- August 28, 2019: Gillibrand suspended her presidential campaign. She discussed her decision in an interview with The New York Times.
- August 27, 2019: Gillibrand pledged to pass a national public service plan in her first 100 days as president.
- August 22, 2019: Gillibrand tweeted that she had 115,000 donors, making her 15,000 donors away from the grassroots fundraising threshold for the September and October debates.
- August 20, 2019: Gillibrand spoke with NBC News about her mental health policy proposal and the opioid crisis.
- August 19-20, 2019: Gillibrand said she was open to running for vice president if her campaign did not succeed. “I will do public service in all its forms,” she said. Gillibrand also released a mental health services policy proposal calling for the expansion of community health centers and certified community behavioral clinics.
See also
- Presidential election key staffers, 2020
- Presidential candidates, 2020
- Democratic presidential nomination, 2020
- Republican presidential nomination, 2020
Footnotes
- ↑ Axios, "Kirsten Gillibrand drops out of the 2020 presidential race," August 28, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Democracy in Action, "Building Campaign Organizations (2019)," accessed May 10, 2019
- ↑ CNN, "Kirsten Gillibrand officially jumps into 2020 race, teases speech at Trump hotel in New York," March 17, 2019
- ↑ Axios, "Kirsten Gillibrand drops out of the 2020 presidential race," August 28, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "Kirsten Gillibrand forming exploratory committee for 2020 White House run," January 15, 2019
- ↑ The Lily, "Here’s a look at which policies Kirsten Gillibrand will focus on, including paid family leave and combating sexual harassment," January 16, 2019
- ↑ Bioguide, "GILLIBRAND, Kirsten, (1966 - )," accessed February 1, 2019
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Democracy in Action, "Organization," accessed November 4, 2019
