Presidential campaign managers, 2016

Campaign managers, as the name suggests, oversee political campaigns in all aspects. While the role's responsibilities vary between campaigns, they typically include staff hiring, fundraising, media presence and political strategy. According to Wellstone Action, a progressive political training group, "Campaign managers must have excellent organizational skills, be level-headed, have good interpersonal skills and not be afraid of raising money." Increasingly, the role involves understanding polling data and voter analytics. Jim Messina, campaign manager for President Barack Obama's (D) 2012 re-election, noted the change in a campaign manager's role: "I think the days where you sit back in a back room and smoke cigars and say, ‘this is how you win Waukesha’—those days are over. I’ve been doing this 20 years, and a lot of what is in politics is sheer B.S. It’s people’s opinions giving answers to questions that are actually quantifiable."

The following is a list of all the campaign managers that Ballotpedia has profiled for the 2016 presidential election. As of July 2015, Lincoln Chafee (D) and Jim Webb (D) had not hired campaign managers. Terry Allen is the former campaign manager for Rick Santorum, but Allen departed the campaign in July 2015 to form a pro-Santorum Super PAC. A fuller individual profile—including the staffer's background, previous experience and campaign work—can be found by clicking on the link in each staffer's name. Clicking the link in the campaign logo on the right will take you to Ballotpedia's comprehensive profile of that candidate's 2016 campaign.

Republican Campaigns
	Danny Diaz: Danny Diaz initially joined the unofficial Bush campaign as a media consultant, and it was expected that David Kochel would serve as campaign manager once the effort officially got underway. However, shortly before Bush officially announced the launch of his campaign, Diaz was named as the campaign manager. Sally Bradshaw, one of Bush's most trusted senior advisors, said the following regarding the last-minute change: "David can best position us for success by playing a key leadership role focusing on how Jeb wins primaries, caucuses, and ultimately the general election and Danny’s skill at rapidly moving content and campaign organization makes him perfectly suited for running the day-to-day operations.”
	On March 3, 2015, Ben Carson formed an exploratory committee for a possible presidential run, and Ed Brookover was named a senior strategist for the committee. When Carson announced his candidacy on May 5, 2015, Brookover maintained his position in the campaign. On December 31, 2015, former campaign manager Barry Bennett resigned. On January 1, 2016, CNN reported that Brookover would take over as campaign manager.
	Ken McKay: Ken McKay was announced as Chris Christie's campaign manager on July 3, 2015. McKay worked on Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri's 2002 and 2006 gubernatorial campaigns as a campaign manager and as Carcieri's chief of staff. He was also chief of staff for the Republican National Committee (RNC). Later, he worked on Florida Gov. Rick Scott's gubernatorial campaign as well as Sen. Ron Johnson's campaign. McKay served as political director for the Republican Governors Association before he co-founded his own consulting firm, McKay-Gitcho Strategies, with former RNC colleague, Gail Gitcho.
	Jeff Roe: Jeff Roe was appointed Cruz's campaign manager when Cruz announced his presidential campaign in March 2015. Roe is the founder and principal of the Kansas City-based consulting firm Axiom Strategies. Roe served as a consultant on Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential bid, coordinating phone contact and get-out-the-vote efforts for the campaign. Roe also advised Rick Perry's 2012 presidential campaign, and he has worked on three campaigns for U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.).
	Frank Sadler: In May 2015, Frank Sadler joined Carly Fiorina's presidential campaign as campaign manager. Sadler is a former staffer for Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) and former senior development associate at Koch Industries. From 2009 to 2014, Sadler was chief operating officer for Cove Strategies, a lobbying firm in Alexandira, Va. In April 2014, Sadler co-founded with Mary Cheney, Barry Bennett, Stephen DeMaura and others a polling firm called Vox Populi Polling.
	Christian Ferry: Christian Ferry has advised Lindsey Graham's presidential campaign since the "testing the waters" phase. Ferry is the founding partner of The Trailblazer Group, a public affairs and consulting firm; he previously worked as the deputy campaign manager for Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign and as the manager of Pacific Union Corporation's PAC. From 2003 to 2008, Ferry was a lobbyist with Davis Manafort, mostly lobbying in telelcommunications and foreign interests.
	Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Sarah Huckabee Sanders was officially announced as campaign manager for Mike Huckabee's campaign on May 7, 2015. Sanders previously worked as the national political director for Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign and as a senior advisor for Tim Pawlenty's 2012 presidential campaign. She has also been involved in the campaigns of both U.S. Senators from Arkansas, directing John Boozman's 2010 campaign and serving as an advisor to Tom Cotton's 2014 re-election. Sanders is Huckabee's daughter and is married to Bryan Sanders, the campaign's media consultant. She is the vice president of Tsamoutales Strategies in Little Rock, Ark.
	Timmy Teepell: On June 24, 2015, Bobby Jindal announced his presidency and solidified his campaign team, naming Timmy Teepell his campaign manager. Teepell served as Jindal's chief of staff and campaign manager for both of Jindal's House campaigns and his gubernatorial campaigns. After Jindal won re-election in 2011, Teepell left Jindal's office and became a partner at OnMessage, an Annapolis-based political consulting firm. While Teepell has been at OnMessage, he has remained Jindal's political strategist.
	Beth Hansen: On July 14, 2015, The Columbus Dispatch reported that Beth Hansen would leave her position as John Kasich's chief of staff to manage his presidential campaign. Of Hansen, Kasich stated: "I have total confidence in Beth. We're close. ... Forget everything else, I love the fact that she's a woman. What a fantastic thing that is. I like to have women in high places in organizations." Kasich announced his bid for the presidency on July 21, 2015.
	Chip Englander: In May 2015, Chip Englander was named the likely campaign manager for Rand Paul's presidential campaign. Englander previously worked on Bruce Rauner's 2014 Illinois gubernatorial campaign. He managed all phases of the campaign, having been with Rauner "during the exploratory phase, the primaries, the general, and was named 'senior adviser' for the transition into the governor’s office." Paul's decision to hire Englander, according to Politico, "signaled that his presidential campaign wouldn’t comprise only operatives associated with the libertarian or tea party wing of the GOP."
	Vincent Balascio: Vincent Balascio became the campaign manager for George Pataki's 2016 presidential campaign from the campaign's inception. Balascio previously worked for Pataki when he was governor of New York and has also worked on campaigns for David Malpass (R-N.Y.), Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.) and Joe Lhota (R-N.Y.). As campaign manager, Balascio has been active in promoting Pataki as a strong candidate in New York. In June 2015, Balascio cited polling data with Pataki leading the race in New York to appeal to supporters.
	Jeff Miller: Jeff Miller was Perry's campaign manager until the suspension of the campaign on September 11, 2015. In early 2015, Miller officially joined RickPAC, Rick Perry's leadership PAC. After Perry announced his candidacy on June 4, 2015, Miller transitioned from director of RickPAC to the role of campaign manager. Previously, Miller worked as an advisor to former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), as the CFO for the California Republican Party and as a partner at the California lobbying firm Russo Miller & Associates. Miller had been credited with developing a new image for Perry for the 2016 election cycle.
	Terry Sullivan: Terry Sullivan has been a part of Marco Rubio's presidential campaign since Rubio announced his candidacy on April 13, 2015. In the past, Sullivan managed former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint's (R) campaign and worked on Rubio’s 2010 Senate bid. Sullivan subsequently joined Rubio's team in 2011, serving as deputy chief of staff before moving on to run Rubio's leadership PAC, Reclaim America.
	Corey Lewandowski: Corey Lewandowski joined the Trump Organization in February 2015. When Trump announced his presidential campaign on June 16, 2015, Lewandowski transitioned to the role of campaign manager. Previously, Lewandowski worked on the U.S. Senate campaign for Bob Smith (R-N.H.) and spent six years with Americans for Prosperity, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization focused on limited government.
	Rick Wiley: In mid-July 2015, Rick Wiley was appointed campaign manager for Walker's 2016 presidential campaign. In 2004, Wiley was the Republican National Committee's victory director in Wisconsin for George W. Bush's re-election campaign. In 2008, Wiley was deputy national political director for Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign. According to a press release by Mercury Public Affairs, during the 2012 election cycle, Wiley assisted in Mitt Romney's presidential campaign via the RNC by implementing a $178 million national grassroots campaign. After the 2012 election cycle, in March 2013, Wiley moved to Mercury Public Affairs, a political consulting firm. Wiley became the managing director for their Washington, D.C. headquarters.

Democratic Campaigns
	Robby Mook: After Hillary Clinton announced her presidential campaign in April 2015, Robby Mook emerged as Clinton's campaign manager. Bloomberg noted that Mook, who was instrumental in maintaining discipline in Terry McAuliffe's 2014 campaign for Virginia governor, will need to utilize that discipline in the Clinton campaign. Mook previously worked as a campaign manager for McAuliffe, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D) of New Hampshire and served as director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
	Dave Hamrick: On June 28, 2015, almost a month after Martin O'Malley announced his presidential camapign, Dave Hamrick was hired as campaign manager. Hamrick previously worked in field operations for Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign and as a grassroots organizer in New Hampshire and South Carolina for President Barack Obama's (D) 2008 primary campaign. Originally from New York City, Hamrick now lives in Washington, D.C., where he is a partner at New Partners Strategies.
	Jeff Weaver: In May 2015, Vermont Public Radio reported that longtime supporter and staffer Jeff Weaver would become campaign manager for Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. A Vermont native, Weaver worked for Sanders as a legislative assistant while Sanders was in the U.S. House. Weaver was campaign manager for Sanders' 2006 Senate campaign and, subsequently, became his chief of staff. In 2010, Weaver left Sanders' office and started a comic book store, Victory Comics, in Falls Church, Vt.

The following individuals served as campaign managers but resigned their positions while their campaigns were still in progress:

• Barry Bennett, Ben Carson

References