President Joe Biden's campaign has hired three veteran political operatives for leadership roles in Minnesota, an early sign national Democrats plan to invest resources into the state this fall.
Democratic National Committee executive member Ron Harris will take on the role of state director, while Alana Petersen and Justin Buoen — who have both worked on statewide U.S. Senate and presidential campaigns — are joining his team as senior advisers.
"With the trifecta of Democratic leaders and strong party operation, Minnesota is a state that has shown how much Democrats can get done working together," Biden-Harris Battleground States Director Dan Kanninen said in a statement on Monday announcing the hires. "Ron, Alana, and Justin have been pivotal in successful statewide elections in the past cycle, and are ready to build a strong organization to deliver Minnesota again for President Biden."
Harris, an adviser and strategist to cities around the country, was most recently a candidate in the race to replace Democrat Rep. Dean Phillips in Minnesota's Third District. He was the first candidate to jump into the race, but he suspended his campaign in February and threw his support behind state Sen. Kelly Morrison, DFL-Deephaven.
He previously worked as the chief resilience officer for the city of Minneapolis and as a city council president chief of staff.
Petersen, who was an adviser to the Biden-Harris campaign in 2020, has also worked with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, the Minnesota Senate DFL caucus and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith's campaign. She served as deputy chief of staff to both Smith and former U.S. Sen. Al Franken.
Buoen also brings presidential campaign experience to the team after working as the national campaign manager for U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar's 2020 presidential bid, as well as for John Kerry and John Edwards' campaigns in the state. He worked on Klobuchar's 2006 and 2012 U.S. Senate campaigns and for former DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Walz.
"This team has a proven record of winning elections for Democrats in Minnesota, and their experience will help bring our state home for President Biden," Klobuchar said in a statement.
Biden beat Donald Trump in Minnesota by more than 7 percentage points in 2020. In 2016, the Trump came within 1.5 percentage points of beating Hillary Clinton in the state. Minnesota hasn't voted for a Republican presidential candidate since Richard Nixon in 1972.
While Trump's campaign hasn't announced any state hires yet, he told a local radio station in March that he's going to give winning the state a "big shot" this fall, adding that he's working with U.S. House Majority Whip and Minnesota U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer on a strategy to turn Minnesota red.
Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
