The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is recruiting Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenWarren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Joint Chiefs chairman says he regrets participating in Trump photo-op | GOP senators back Joint Chiefs chairman who voiced regret over Trump photo-op | Senate panel approves 0B defense policy bill Trump on collision course with Congress over bases with Confederate names MORE’s (D-Mass.) former campaign manager to helm the party’s efforts to retake Senate control in 2018.
Mindy Myers will be the first woman to serve as DSCC executive director. Myers oversaw the committee’s independent expenditures in the 2016 cycle.
“The Senate Democrats are the last line of defense between the incoming Trump Administration and the damaging policies that threaten the economic prospects of the middle class, the health security of seniors, and the march toward greater social justice,” said Sen.-elect Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), incoming DSCC chairman, in a statement announcing the move Wednesday.
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“She has what it takes to build the strong team that can get the job done for our candidates and the American people,” he said of Myers.
Warren called Myers a “smart, tough, steady leader who knows how to fight & win.”
“Our party is lucky to have her,” she wrote on Twitter.
Myers served as campaign manager for Warren’s 2012 campaign against then-Sen. Scott Brown (R). Warren has emerged as a progressive stalwart and been floated as a possible presidential contender in 2020.
Myers has also managed the campaigns of Sens. Sheldon WhitehouseSheldon WhitehouseKey Democrat accuses Labor head of ‘misleading’ testimony on jobless benefits Sheldon Whitehouse leads Democrats into battle against Trump judiciary Bill aims to help farmers sell carbon credits MORE (D-R.I.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and also served as New Hampshire state director for Obama for America in 2008.
Senate Democrats only picked up two seats in 2016 despite a favorable electoral map. The 2018 cycle will be a tougher fight to protect 25 seats — two of which are held by Independents who caucus with Democrats.
Ten of the seats they’re defending are in states carried by President-elect Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE in the November election.
Myers’s political experience is mainly in the Northeast, and Democrats will be defending seats in red states including Ohio, Missouri, North Dakota and Montana.
But Myers, who’s from South Dakota, noted that she grew up in an area that’s primarily Republican.
“I really believe that the American people, and even independent voters in these red states agree with the Democratic principles on economic issues,” Myers told Roll Call in a March interview.