Kamala Harris Hires Top Obama Advisers, Building Out Campaign
Vice President Kamala Harris, who formally won enough delegates to secure the Democratic Party nomination on Friday, is remaking a campaign hierarchy originally built to re-elect President Biden by adding several new advisers to the top ranks of her staff, including David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama’s first presidential run.
The changes, which come with fewer than 100 days until Election Day, provide an injection of talent and experience to a Wilmington, Del., operation that is flush with cash after her campaign announced raising a record-setting $310 million in July — more than double the sum raised by former President Donald J. Trump.
The hirings and promotions continue a whirlwind period for Ms. Harris, who is expected to meet in person with prospective candidates to be her running mate this weekend. The list is said to have narrowed to a half-dozen and the accelerated vetting process, conducted by an outside law firm, is now complete. Her campaign has suggested it will unveil her running mate by Tuesday evening, when the new ticket will hold a rally in Philadelphia to kick off a five-day battleground state tour.
Many of the other new additions to Ms. Harris’s team are veterans of the Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigns.
Stephanie Cutter, Mr. Obama’s deputy campaign manager in 2012, will now be a senior adviser for message and strategy. Mitch Stewart, Mr. Obama’s 2012 battleground states director, will be a senior adviser for the battleground states this year. Jennifer Palmieri, a former Obama and Clinton communications director, will be a senior adviser to Ms. Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff.
The vice president has also elevated political aides such as Brian Fallon and Megan Jones, who worked for her smaller team on