As the elections in the United States are drawing closer and closer as the days go by, campaigns have kicked into high gear on a digital or even personnel scale. Former vice president Joe Biden recently made some additions to his team by hiring a states director and a deputy.
The Biden campaign brought on Jenn Ridder to be states director, primarily focusing on the battleground states during the race. Ridder previously served as campaign manager for Montana governor Steve Bullock during his presidential campaign as well as Jared Polis during his bid for Colorado governor. Molly Ritner, who spearheaded Biden’s successful Super Tuesday campaign from Virginia to Texas, will serve as deputy states director.
Prior to bringing Ridder and Ritner to the team, the Biden campaign has already made additions to its personnel and ramped up efforts to be more present on the digital platforms. The staff additions followed Democrats’ concerns that the former vice president disappeared from the campaign trail and was not hiring enough people on his team. Biden campaign aides have since dismissed those concerns. Biden adviser explained that there really is no set time frame when it comes to hiring and that they are just putting a lot of thought into who they decide to bring onto the team.
Democratic group Organizing Together 2020 has pulled some of the weight by forming a staff of up to 500 people in the battleground states just in time for June. Democrats have also thought that the Biden campaign hiring people at this time was just on schedule.
As Biden and his campaign make additions to the staff, California governor Gavin Newsom also announced his endorsement of the former vice president. Newsom appeared at a virtual campaign event with donors. Newsom expressed how proud he is of Biden and what he has accomplished and even highlighted his compassion and respect for everyone all throughout his career. Newsom even added that Biden could unite the country. Biden thanked Newsom for his endorsement, even getting emotional at the California governor’s words.
Newsom had often sidestepped questions of when his endorsement of Biden was going to come. The California governor previously endorsed Senator Kamala Harris in her presidential bid, who in turn eventually endorsed Biden when she suspended her campaign. Newsom’s endorsement is also just as important as he currently governs the country’s most populated state.