Democrats give 2020 campaign staffs jolts of diversity, activism
Alexandra Rojas was shocked. So was Waleed Shahid.
The two vocal leaders of Justice Democrats, an advocacy group whose uncompromising style has made it a nuisance among Washington traditionalists, had a meeting request from aides to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who was fresh into her presidential campaign. As Warren sought to push the party to the left by proposing expansive liberal policy ideas, her team was prepared to seek counsel from organizations that did the same.
“They want us in their court,” Rojas said. “They know that if they want to win, they need to have the support from the grassroots energy.”
Warren’s willingness to look outside the traditional pool of political aides underscores the extent to which activism and ideology are shaping the makeup of campaign staffs for Democratic candidates, even at the highest levels. Neither Rojas nor Shahid received a job offer, but in a crowded field where candidates are looking to stand out, activists fluent in the language of social movements are gaining value as important allies.
Julián Castro hired as his campaign manager Maya Rupert, a campaign novice who made her name in organizing with the Center for Reproductive Rights and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has expanded his close-knit group of strategists and tapped Faiz Shakir, former political director for the American Civil Liberties Union, to run his new-look presidential campaign.
As the primary process kicks into full swing, some Democrats are bypassing the kind of experienced Washington “wiseguys” who operated in the cauldron of beltway politics — famous strategists like David Axelrod, James Carville and, more recently, Robby Mook. Instead, campaigns are increasingly filling senior positions with a new generation of activist-driven operatives, whose political formation took place in grassroots movements.
The shift has resulted in greater staff diversity than in previous cycles, but it has also influenced strategy, according to campaign officials. New voices are joining with election-cycle veterans to bring fresh ideas and political approaches to the presidential stage.
Castro, for instance, plans to diverge from the traditional early primary state road map in favor of a tour of all 50 states. Warren has pledged to eschew all private fundraising, an unheard-of step in presidential politics that was fueled by her campaign’s chief architect, Dan Geldon, who shares Warren’s distaste for Wall Street and a willingness to take political risks.
Sanders is emphasizing his personal biography more and engaging in more explicit discussions of racial inequality. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., who has often relied on a trusted group of California advisers, has taken pains to find senior staff members with grassroots credentials as she tries to fashion herself as the candidate “for the people.”
“The shifts that we’re seeing in the Democratic Party are a lot of folks demanding that their leadership take ideas that have been considered on the fringe and push them to the center,” said Rupert, Castro’s campaign manager. “And that’s the way movements operate.”
Castro’s campaign is also paying its interns a $15 minimum wage and said it would support any effort among staff members to form a union. And Sanders’ campaign announced last week that its staff would become the first presidential campaign workforce to be unionized.
Kelly Dietrich, the longtime Democratic consultant, said the surge in Democratic voter enthusiasm since President Donald Trump’s election has helped issue-driven activists become more interested in traditional electoral politics. It has also forced campaigns to take new ideas more seriously, he said.
“We’re seeing a lot more people across the spectrum, both in terms of diversity and political agenda, step forward and want to make change,” said Dietrich, who founded a campaign training organization called the National Democratic Training Committee. They are “fed up or scared, they are frustrated, and are ready to fight back.”
The Democratic Party needs to bring in these activists, Dietrich said, “so that five years, 10 years, 15 years down the road, this is the norm.”
The shift reflects a growing realization among many Democrats that the party’s most fervent energy resides on its left flank. Democrats swept to power in the House in last year’s midterm elections, and the most popular members of the party’s new class are the women of color who pushed the party even further left, empowered by groups including Justice Democrats.