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Biden is giving effective control of the campaign to Anita Dunn, a veteran Democratic operative and top adviser to him.
“She will be working closely with us on campaign strategy and overall coordination on budget and personnel as we build a bigger campaign for the next phase,” according to a campaign email obtained by The New York Times.
But two senior Biden officials said Dunn is doing more than that — and that she will have final decision-making authority, a decision that came at the behest of the former vice president. The Biden advisers spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.
The email was sent Thursday by Greg Schultz, Biden’s current campaign manager, and a longtime Biden adviser, Steve Ricchetti, who have had differences with each other, reflecting internal generational tensions that have divided the Biden campaign, according to some Democrats close to it.
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Biden’s decision to make such a major change amounts to a recognition that if he does not revive his fortunes in New Hampshire and in the Nevada caucuses on Feb. 22, his so-called firewall in South Carolina — where he is presumed to have strong support from black voters — could crumble and donors will bolt. He acknowledged this week that the result in Iowa was a “gut punch,” a remark his team referenced in the email.
In another indication that Biden knows he must quickly turn his campaign around, his senior aides reached out this week to Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, a former Obama campaign official who ran Beto O’Rourke’s campaign. The aides asked O’Malley Dillon to help on their Nevada caucus effort and she agreed to do so in a volunteer capacity, according to a Democrat familiar with the conversation, but she will not join the campaign.
Such shake-ups are common in troubled presidential campaigns — and even before the primary here. In 2008, after being soundly defeated by Barack Obama in Iowa, Hillary Clinton overhauled her staff before winning the New Hampshire primary.
Dunn’s new role was greeted enthusiastically by some on Biden’s staff who have been frustrated by the bickering and view her as a unifying and respected figure across generational lines.
But in a sign of the tensions on the campaign, and the growth of rival factions who are and are not loyal to Schultz, other Biden officials sought to downplay the elevation of an already-senior official, suggesting it was mostly done to reassure the former vice president.
The move follows days of speculation inside Biden’s Philadelphia headquarters about potential staff shake-ups following a disappointing Iowa result that has complicated Biden’s path forward. Before her elevation, Dunn had been focused chiefly on communications strategy.
Her new leadership role, which came with Biden’s blessing, signals that the campaign recognizes a need to make changes. But it’s not clear that promoting Dunn will alter Biden’s trajectory in the race — or be the last change Biden makes.
A spokesman for the Biden campaign, T.J. Ducklo, declined to comment.
Dunn, a managing director at the public affairs firm SKDKnickerbocker, is a longtime Democratic strategist who has worked on a number of presidential campaigns and grew close to Biden when she worked in the Obama White House. She has been dividing her time between Washington, the Philadelphia headquarters and on the campaign trail with Biden.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times .