Marlon Marshall
| Marlon Marshall | |||
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| Basic facts | |||
| Location: | Washington, D.C. | ||
| Affiliation: | Democratic | ||
| Education: | University of Kansas | ||
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Marlon Marshall was the director of state campaigns and political engagement for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. He is known for running state-oriented federal campaigns and for promoting racial and ethnic diversity among political campaign staffs.
Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016
Relationship with Clinton staff
In March 2014, prior to Clinton announcing her candidacy, U.S. News reported on Marshall's relationship with Clinton and many of her top aides. The magazine quoted a source close to Marshall, who said, "Within Hillaryworld, Marlon Marshall has a special place. He is loved and liked and feared and respected and the thing about Marlon is, he’ll be able to carve out any role he wants assuming there’s a campaign."[1] Marshall joined the campaign as director of state campaigns and political engagement in March 2015
Marshall is a longtime friend of Robby Mook, Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign manager. The two worked together at the DCCC.[2] The two also worked together on Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. Marshall is part of Mook's so-called "Mook Mafia," a tight-knit group of 150 Democratic political operatives.[3][4] In February 2015, The New York Times emphasized the close relationship between the two, calling Marshall Mook's "right hand."[5]
Early work in Iowa
In late March, Robby Mook and Marshall were in Iowa, chaperoned by Matt Paul, Clinton's state director, and meeting with elected officials, labor union leaders and making on-the-ground contact with local activists preparing the groundwork for Clinton's Iowa campaign.[6][7]
Campaign culture of diversity
According to CNN, for the Clinton campaign "one of his [Marshall's] most important tasks is helping the Clinton campaign navigate a cultural and political terrain that includes a new and boisterous civil rights movement, viral racial incidents and the waning tenure of the nation's first black president." CNN also noted, "Clinton aides credit Marshall with helping to create a diverse campaign team at the state and upper staff level." [8]
Career
| More on Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign staff |
|---|
| Staff overview |
| • Clinton staff overview |
Management and strategy |
| • Robby Mook, Campaign manager • Joel Benenson, Chief strategist and pollster • Amanda Renteria, Political director • John Podesta, Campaign chairman • Huma Abedin, Vice chair |
Communications |
| • Jennifer Palmieri, Communications director • Jim Margolis, Media advisor |
Policy and outreach |
| • Jake Sullivan, Senior policy advisor • Marlon Marshall, Director of state campaigns and political engagement • Maya Harris, Senior policy advisor • LaDavia Drane, Congressional liaison |
Early career
While at the University of Kansas, Marlon Marshall got involved in local politics and, by 2004, he was working on John Kerry's (D) presidential campaign. Marshall was Kerry's operative in Missouri and Ohio.[9]
In 2008, Marshall joined Hillary Clinton's (D) presidential campaign as field director in Nevada, Ohio, and Indiana.[10] Clinton's 2016 campaign manager, Robby Mook, was also a field manager for Clinton in those states for the 2008 election. After Barack Obama's victory over Clinton in the primaries, Marshall joined Obama's campaign team as the election director in Missouri for Obama for America.[9] After Obama's election, Marshall was appointed deputy White House liaison to the State Department in 2009.[9][11]
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
In late 2009, Marshall became the national field director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).[12] In 2011, Marshall shifted to deputy executive director of the DCCC under Executive Director Robby Mook.[2]
Barack Obama advisor
In 2012, Marshall re-joined President Obama's re-election campaign as the national field director.[12] After Obama's victory, several key members of Obama's campaign staff, including Marshall, started their own strategy firm, 270 Strategies in Washington, D.C., and Chicago in 2013.[13] However, in September 2013, Marshall re-joined Obama at the White House as deputy director for the White House Office of Public Engagement, where he was responsible for helping to rollout the Affordable Care Act by promoting enrollment and then launching My Brother's Keeper Community Challenge, an initiative targeting urban African-American young men and helping to improve their lives.[12][3]
270 Strategies
- See also: 270 Strategies
In January 2015, Marshall announced he was leaving Obama administration to re-join 270 Strategies.[3][12][14] Marshall explained his decision to CNN, saying 270 Strategies was "doing big things and having a meaningful impact on the issues and communities we care about. It was our deep-seated belief that grassroots organizing is a necessary component to making change in those communities. Today, the 270 mission is stronger than ever, and I could not be more excited to rejoin the team."[3]
Of his aims as a political consultant, he told the Lawrence Journal-World in 2015, is to promote diversity within the political sphere: "I do this work so that young people, with a particular emphasis on young people of color, can have the same opportunities as everyone else. That’s my aspiration, to make sure that we fix those inequities."[15]
Media
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. News and World Report, "March 31, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Roll Call, "DCCC Memo to Hill Details 2012 Team," February 2, 2011
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 CNN, "Obamacare aide Marlon Marshall departs White House ahead of 2016," January 7, 2015
- ↑ ABC News, "Read the Secret Emails of the Men Who May Run Hillary Clinton's Campaign," November 14, 2014
- ↑ New York Times, "Hillary Clinton Aides Are in Talks to Fill Top Campaign Roles," February 27, 2015
- ↑ National Journal, "Reporters Outnumber Voters as Hillary Clinton Opens Campaign in Iowa," April 14, 2015
- ↑ The Des Moines Register, "Iowa visit by two Clinton strategists sends message, Democrats say," March 30, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "The man behind Hillary Clinton's African-American outreach," November 13, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Democratic Gain, "Interview with Marlon Marshall," May 26, 2009
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Hillary Clinton 2016: The Anti-'08 Campaign," March 23, 2015
- ↑ Politico, ""Washington's Black Pack"," March 23, 2009
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Washington Post, "Marlon Marshall, key White House aide, steps down Friday," January 2, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Former Obama field organizers start firm," January 15, 2013
- ↑ 270 Strategies, "Statement of Marlon Marshall on Return to 270 Strategies,"January 2, 2015
- ↑ Lawrence Journal-World, "Q&A with Marlon Marshall, former KU student body VP and now one of Hillary Clinton’s top staffers," November 19, 2015
