Mike Vlacich
| Mike Vlacich | |||
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| Education: | •University of New Hampshire | ||
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Mike Vlacich, a seasoned Democratic operative in New Hampshire, was the New Hampshire state director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.[1]
Career
Early career
Mike Vlacich's early interest in politics came from his parents—he explained to Reardon Reports, "Both my parents were immigrants. They were so proud of being citizens and really appreciated the democratic process so they got me interested."[3] He began working in politics while still a student at the University of New Hampshire, working as a volunteer organizer for Bill Clinton's (D) 1992 presidential campaign. He then served as a field staffer for Clinton's re-election campaign in 1996.[4]
New Hampshire gubernatorial advisor
Vlacich has spent most of his career working in the state of New Hampshire, first as an advisor to then-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D). From 1997 to 2002, he was special assistant for economic development to Shaheen. From December 2002 to June 2003, he was a business recruitment and retention specialist for the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development. He was executive director of the Democratic Party of New Hampshire from June 2003 to December 2004, where he also led the party's coordinated campaign in 2004.[2][5]
After Shaheen left office in 2003, Vlacich went to work for the next New Hampshire governor. He managed John Lynch's (D) gubernatorial campaign then worked in Lynch's administration as the deputy chief of staff and policy director.[2] In Lynch's cabinet, according to Sea Coast Online, Vlacich "served as lead adviser to save the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and developed the Governor's Jobs Cabinet."[6] From 2006 to 2008, he was the director of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development's division of economic development.[2][5]
Jeanne Shaheen U.S. Senate advisor
According to Jill Terreri Ramos of the Boston Globe, despite having worked for Lynch and having been executive director of the Democratic Party of New Hampshire, "Vlacich's career arc has been shaped by his work for Shaheen."[4] When Shaheen won election to the U.S. Senate, Vlacich began working for her first as New Hampshire state director, leaving his position in the department of resources and economic development. He was Shaheen's state director from January 2009 to 2014, when he left the role to oversee Shaheen's re-election campaign.
In 2014, Vlacich managed Shaheen's 2014 re-election campaign against Republican Scott Brown. Shaheen's 2014 campaign was described as "near-perfect" by Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic strategist with the Dewey Square Group in Massachusetts.[7] After Shaheen won victory, according to WMUR, supporters chanted Vlacich's name at the victory speech. Vlacich told the news station, "It was a combination of grassroots organizing, a good record for New Hampshire, a wonderful candidate and really not taking it for granted. ... What we did was we took these traditional New Hampshire ways of communicating with voters, and we rolled in modern technology."[8]
From January 2015 to March 2015, Vlacich worked for Shaheen in her Washington, D.C., office.[2]
Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016
In March 2015, Mike Vlacich was named the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign's state director for New Hampshire.[1] Vlacich was described as "the obvious number one choice" for Clinton by New Hampshire councilor Colin van Ostern.[4] Nick Clemons, New Hampshire state director for Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign, has said of Vlacich that "the secret of his success is he is not seen as overly partisan." Steve Duprey, former chairman of the Republican Party of New Hampshire and a member of the Republican National Committee, told the Boston Globe that Vlacich is "a consummate professional and friend. ... I find him to be a very decent and honorable person in the way he conducts campaigns."[4]
The Vlacich-led New Hampshire primary operation had "more than 50 paid staffers and about 10 offices," according to Bloomberg.[9] In a November 2015 memo, Vlacich noted that the New Hampshire campaign had secured the endorsements of the state's top Democrats, including governor, senator and nine of the party's 10 state senators.[10]
During the primary campaign, as Clinton fell behind rival Bernie Sanders, Vlacich remained optimistic that the campaign's New Hampshire infrastructure was important for Clinton in terms of campaigning to individuals. He told National Review, "New Hampshire is doing its important work, which is having the candidates do all the critical work that needs to be done to earn the vote. We set out from the very beginning understanding that we would have a challenge, and that we would have to work hard to meet that challenge.[11]
On April 29, 2016, Bloomberg reported that Vlacich would remain in his position in New Hampshire for an anticipated general election.[12]
Comments on strategy
In July 2016, Vlacich explained the Clinton campaign's primary election strategy to the Concord Monitor. Saying that the campaign knew Sanders would win the primary months in advance, Vlacich commented that the Clinton campaign made the decision to not attack Sanders in the state. He told the paper, "We did not attack, we didn’t want to go negative. That patience and thoughtfulness is certainly serving us well as we reunite with the Sanders campaign. It makes the conversations a lot easier when we engage Sanders supporters. ... We’re not going to take anyone for granted."[13]
Media
See also
- Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016
- Jeanne Shaheen
- John Lynch
- Democratic Party of New Hampshire
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Washington Post, "Hillary Clinton staffs up in New Hampshire," March 13, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Linkedin.com, "Profile: Mike Vlacich," accessed November 23, 2015
- ↑ Reardon Reports, "Meet the NH Campaign Managers: Mike Vlacich," September 7, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Boston Globe, "Vlacich faces next challenge as Clinton’s N.H. campaign manager," March 27, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Harvard Institute of Politics, "New Hampshire Campaign Veteran Mike Vlacich to Lead New IOP Initiative," February 24, 2015
- ↑ Sea Coast Online, "Jeanne Shaheen makes hiring decisions," November 18, 2008
- ↑ Bloomberg, "The only Democratic operative with holiday cheer," November 27, 2014
- ↑ WMUR, "Shaheen campaign manager reflects on victory," November 6, 2014
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders Enter New Phase in Battle for New Hampshire," November 2, 2015
- ↑ Boston Globe, "In the New Hampshire ground game, Bernie Sanders is catching up to Hillary Clinton," November 2, 2015
- ↑ National Review, "Clinton Campaign Fraying over ‘Lost Cause’ New Hampshire," October 6, 2015
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Clinton Hiring Staff in Battleground States for General Election," April 29, 2016
- ↑ Concord Monitor, "From New Hampshire roots, Clinton campaign manager rises to top of national politics," July 28, 2016
