Buttigieg campaign multiplies in size after huge cash haul

[DonViejo]

The mayor's presidential campaign is adding hundreds of on-the-ground staff this summer, catching up to some campaigns who staffed up early.

By DANIEL STRAUSS and ELENA SCHNEIDER 07/06/2019 07:54 AM EDT

Before the first Democratic presidential debates kicked off last week, close to 100 Pete Buttigieg supporters and donors sheltered from the Miami heat in a Hilton hotel conference room, where Buttigieg’s senior staff briefed them on the campaign’s transformation from shoe-string operation to $25 million enterprise.

The officials didn’t reveal Buttigieg’s field-leading second-quarter fundraising total then, but what they did discuss is more important in the long run: how Buttigieg plans to spend the money.

For months, the South Bend, Ind., mayor has run one of the more frugal 2020 campaigns, eschewing on-the-ground organizers in early caucus and primary states and instead focusing on fundraising, media appearances and the candidate’s travel. But Buttigieg is now rapidly expanding his campaign’s footprint to try and build on his gains in the first half of the year.

In Iowa, Buttigieg’s campaign added 30 organizers at the end of June, filling out what had previously been a four-person skeleton crew. A dozen staffers are now on board in New Hampshire. And by the end of the summer, there will be many more: The campaign plans to swell its staff to 300 people by Labor Day, according to multiple people briefed on its plans.

“As we go into the summer toward the fall, we really need to make sure we’ve got the right kind of ground game. And part of that is how we use my time, and part of that is in between [events] making sure we’ve got folks day in and day out on the ground,” Buttigieg said during a recent campaign stop in Sioux City, Iowa. “So you’ll see the numbers of organizers and volunteers that we have really growing.”

more
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/06/pete-buttigieg-2020-1399034

[mobeau69]

1. "Zev Karlin-Neumann, a former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, is now on board."

[crazytown]

3. Karlin-Neumann was Senator Harris' speechwriter.

[mobeau69]

5. Yes, and also

a National Security Council speechwriter for Obama White House from Nov. 2015 to Jan. 2017.

[Peacetrain]

2. He made a haul ..

it was impressive

[stonecutter357]

4. K&R