Joe Biden’s presidential campaign announces Florida leaders ahead of November election
The presidential campaign of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden announced Monday that it is bringing on several veteran strategists key to the party’s 2020 organizing efforts in Florida, the nation’s largest swing state.
The former vice president is sticking with Jackie Lee as his Florida state director after Lee led Biden’s Florida campaign ahead of the March 17 Democratic primary, when he trounced rival Bernie Sanders.
For its coordinated director — a position responsible for syncing operations with the Democratic National Committee and the Florida Democratic Party — the Biden campaign has hired Brandon Thompson. He most recently worked as campaign director for Organizing Together 2020 Florida, a political group focused on building campaign infrastructure early for the eventual Democratic nominee. Thompson previously served as director of national campaigns for California Senator and potential Biden running mate Kamala Harris.
Biden’s campaign is also tapping two Florida strategists who have been involved in efforts to build back the Democratic Party’s registered voter advantage over Republicans in the state: Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Juan Peñalosa and former Organizing Together 2020 Florida political director Karen Andre.
Over the past two years, Peñalosa, a veteran Democratic communications strategist, has overseen an expansion of mail-in voting and a voter registration effort ahead of the November election.
Andre was a senior adviser to former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, who narrowly lost his 2018 campaign to now-Gov. Ron DeSantis. She served a stint as interim executive director for Gillum’s Forward Florida Action political apparatus, which helped fund voter registration efforts last year.
Florida offers 29 electoral college votes to the winner. President Donald Trump’s campaign has talked about the state as a must-win for his reelection effort. Recent polls have shown Biden leading Trump in the state.
This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
