Pete Buttigieg presidential campaign staff, 2020
Date: November 3, 2020 |
 Donald Trump Joe Biden Howie Hawkins Jo Jorgensen
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Last updated November 22, 2019.
This page contains a select list of Pete Buttigieg's national campaign staff and primary state directors. Staff are presented alongside their positions in the campaign, their most recent positions prior to the campaign, and their Twitter handles.
Click on the links below to navigate:
- Campaign staff in context
- Overview of Buttigieg's campaign
- National and state staff
- Buttigieg 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."[1]
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.[1]
Buttigieg campaign overview
Pete Buttigieg is the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He announced he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination on January 23, 2019, and formally kicked off his campaign on April 14, 2019.[2] He suspended his campaign on March 1, 2020.[3]
Buttigieg received the most pledged delegates in the Iowa caucuses.
Buttigieg focused his campaign on policy issues that he implemented as mayor, such as connecting with the global economy through investing in advanced industries, data, technology, and higher education.[4]
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.[5] For a larger list of national campaign staff, visit Democracy in Action.
| Pete Buttigieg presidential campaign national staff, 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff | Position | Prior experience | Twitter handle |
| Mike Schmuhl | Campaign manager | Consultant, Mel Hall for Congress, 2018 | N/A |
| Stephen Brokaw | National political director | Marketing manager, Google | N/A |
| Greta Carnes | National organizing director | Texting director, Virginia Democratic Coordinated Campaign, 2017 | @gretacarnes |
| Lis Smith | Communications director | Deputy campaign manager, Martin O'Malley for President of the United States, 2016 | @Lis_Smith |
| Chris Meagher | National press secretary | Communications director, Montanans for Jon Tester, 2018 | @chrismeagher |
| Nina Smith | Traveling press secretary | Managing partner/co-owner/director of media relations, Megaphone Strategies | @ninasophia81 |
| Sonal Shah | Policy director | Executive director, Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation | @SonalRShah |
| Jess O'Connell | Senior advisor | CEO, Democratic National Committee | @JessOConnell |
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.[5] For a larger list of state campaign staff, visit Democracy in Action.
| Pete Buttigieg presidential campaign state staff, 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff | State | Position | Prior experience | Twitter handle |
| Brendan McPhillips | Iowa | State director | Campaign manager, Andrew Gillum for Governor of Florida, 2018 | @BrendanMcP |
| Ben Halle | Iowa | Communications director | Press secretary, Planned Parenthood | @bhalle87 |
| Victoria Williams | New Hampshire | State director | Counsel to Sen. Maggie Hassan | @vlwilliams22 |
| Kevin Donohoe | New Hampshire | Communications director | Senior communications advisor, Democratic Party of Florida | @kevinsidonohoe |
| Paul Selberg | Nevada | State director | Executive director of the Nevada Assembly Democratic Caucus | @PaulSelbergNV |
| Jarvis Houston | South Carolina | State director | Chief of staff to state Sen. Jesse Hamilton (D-N.Y.) | @jarvisthebold |
| Cecilia Cabello | California | State director | Vice president, Los Angeles Board of Public Works | @ceciliacabello |
Notable staff departures
The list below shows notable staff departures found in media reports.
| Pete Buttigieg presidential campaign staff, 2020 (Departures) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff | Previous position | Departure date | New position |
| Michael Ceraso | New Hampshire state director | August 2019 | N/A |
Buttigieg 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 Buttigieg and his presidential campaign. For a complete timeline of Buttigieg's campaign activity, click here.
- March 1-2, 2020: Buttigieg ended his presidential campaign and endorsed Biden. He said, “We have a responsibility to concede the effect of remaining in this race any further. Our goal has always been to help unify Americans to defeat Donald Trump and to win the era for our values.”
- March 1, 2020: Buttigieg campaigned in Texas. VoteVets made a seven-figure ad buy to support Buttigieg in Super Tuesday states.
- February 26-27, 2020: Buttigieg started airing two television and digital ads in South Carolina featuring his plan to support black communities. Politico reported on Buttigieg’s Super Tuesday delegate strategy of focusing on smaller media markets like the Austin suburbs, San Diego, and northern Maine. Politico also reported Equality California Votes would spend $100,000 to support Buttigieg.
- February 25, 2020: Buttigieg canceled scheduled fundraisers and community events in South Florida due to illness.
- February 24, 2020: One of South Carolina’s largest daily newspapers, The State, endorsed Buttigieg. Buttigieg made a seven-figure ad buy in 12 of the 14 Super Tuesday states that will began airing on Feb. 25 and 26.
See also
- Presidential election key staffers, 2020
- Presidential candidates, 2020
- Democratic presidential nomination, 2020
- Republican presidential nomination, 2020
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Democracy in Action, "Building Campaign Organizations (2019)," accessed May 10, 2019
- ↑ New York Times "Pete Buttigieg Announces Official Start to 2020 Campaign," April 14, 2019
- ↑ FOX6, "Pete Buttigieg ending his race for Democratic presidential nomination," March 1, 2020
- ↑ Pete For America, "Meet Pete," accessed February 21, 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Democracy in Action, "Organization," accessed November 4, 2019
