Kamala Harris hires Obama’s advisors in effort to topple Trump in race to the White House

As former President Barack Obama took to the stage at the Democratic National Convention, he returned to the political fray to champion another trailblazing nominee – Vice-President Kamala Harris – who is leaning heavily on his one-time staff and strategy to win the White House.

In the days following her rapid ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden’s exit from the race, Harris quickly brought in a coterie of advisors from Obama’s White House and campaign efforts to join her team.

The hires represent a cold calculation – that with less than three months to Election Day, Democrats can’t risk learning on the fly. Grafting Obama’s advisors onto the existing campaign also underscores how Harris, whose own 2020 presidential effort flamed out quickly and who struggled early in her vice presidency to retain staff, lacks a deep bench of loyalists to staff her effort.

But, most importantly, the Obama team is the only group in American history to successfully land a candidate of colour in the White House – and then do it again in a trying economic environment. For the first black woman and Asian to lead a major-party presidential ticket, reconstituting the former president’s electoral coalition will be critical in the race against Republican Donald Trump.

The campaign has added prominent Obama alumni, most notably, David Plouffe, who ran his 2008 operation, for senior roles. Others joining him include Stephanie Cutter, a former White House advisor and deputy campaign manager for the re-election run; Jennifer Palmieri, an ex-White House communications director; and Mitch Stewart, battleground states director in 2012.

Jim Messina, who ran Obama’s 2012 re-election, cast the addition of veteran hands as a practicality.