Jennifer O’Malley Dillon was named the new manager of Democratic candidate Joseph R. Biden’s presidential campaign Thursday as the race for the party’s nomination heats up.
Mrs. O’Malley Dillon, a veteran Democratic strategist, will replace Greg Schultz to run the former vice president’s resurgent effort to win the White House, the Biden team announced.
Mr. Schultz will remain with the Biden campaign but will focus on external outrage and “organizational planning for the general election” the announcement said.
“I am grateful to Greg for his leadership and hard work to help get our campaign where it is today, and I will value his continued input on this campaign,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. “I am also thrilled that Jen is bringing her considerable talent and insight to this team. She will be a tremendous asset to a campaign that is only growing and getting stronger as we prepare to take the fight to Donald Trump this fall.”
Mrs. O’Malley Dillon, a 43-year-old Boston native, will join the Biden team full time after having advising the campaign on its efforts in the Nevada caucuses last month.
She previously served as a deputy manager for former President Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012, and more recently she managed the Democratic presidential campaign of former White House hopeful Beto O’Rourke.
“Like so many other Democrats who are unifying behind Joe Biden’s character and leadership, I’m excited to join the team at this critical moment,” Mrs. O’Malley Dillon said in a statement. “Vice President Biden is turning out voters at record levels and building the broad coalition we need to ensure Donald Trump doesn’t get a second term. It’s an honor to help make him the 46th President and I’m ready to get to work.”
The shake-up among Mr. Biden’s team comes on the heels of the candidate besting fellow White House hopeful Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, in several recent state Democratic presidential primaries, breathing new life into a campaign teetering toward collapse only weeks earlier.
Both candidates are currently scheduled to participate in a head-to-head Democratic primary debate for the first time Sunday.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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