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Jim Messina (political staffer)

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Jim Messina
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
In office
January 20, 2009 – January 26, 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byBlake Gottesman
Succeeded byAlyssa Mastromonaco
Personal details
Born (1969-10-29) October 29, 1969 (age 55)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Montana (BA)

Jim Messina (born October 29, 1969)[1] is an American political adviser who was the White House deputy chief of staff for operations under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2011 and served as the campaign manager for Obama's successful 2012 re-election campaign.[2][3][4] He is the CEO of the Messina Group.[5]

Messina became President Obama's White House deputy chief of staff and earned the nickname "the fixer."[6] Dan Pfeiffer called Messina "the most powerful person in Washington that you haven't heard of."[7] Messina was integral to the passage on the Affordable Care Act and was widely credited with the effort to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell.[8][9]

In January 2013, the Obama administration announced the launch of Organizing for Action, an advocacy organization that would promote President Obama's policies, with Jim Messina as national chair.[10] That same year, Messina became co-chair of Priorities USA Action.[11]

In various roles he has advised a number of international campaigns and candidates, including former UK prime minister David Cameron,[12] Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy,[13] Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi, and UK prime minister Theresa May.

Early life and education

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Messina was born in Denver, Colorado, and raised in Boise, Idaho. He graduated from Boise High School in 1988 and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and journalism from the University of Montana in 1993.[14][15] In 1993, as a college senior, Messina managed Dan Kemmis's successful re-election bid for mayor of Missoula, Montana.[16]

Career

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Prior to first Obama campaign

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In 1995, Messina was hired by Democratic U.S. senator Max Baucus of Montana. They describe their relationship as father-son-like.[citation needed] In 2002, he ran Baucus's 2002 re-election campaign. Messina "refused to let Baucus attend any debate that didn't include a third-party candidate whose skin had turned blue from drinking an anti-infection solution",[17] which was a distraction to help take attention away from the more credible Republican candidate. Messina was purportedly responsible for creating an ad for Baucus that observers considered homophobic.[18]

In 2005, he re-united with Baucus and became his chief of staff. Messina was integral in devising the Democratic strategy that prevented the allowance of private accounts within Social Security.[19] Messina was credited by The New York Times Magazine as the brains behind the defeat of President Bush's plan.[20]

Messina has also been involved with other political campaigns from Alaska to New York, including serving as an advisor to Montana state senator Jon Tester's successful election in 2006.[19] In 1999, he became chief of staff to Democratic U.S. congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy of New York. He then became chief of staff to U.S. senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, from 2002 to 2004. In 2004, he made $80,510 and in 2005 made $128,936.[21][22]

Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008

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Messina was hired as National Chief of Staff for the Obama campaign in the 2008 general election.[23] He was credited with leading the efforts to staff up for the general election and controlled a $750 million budget.[24]

Messina celebrates Obama's reelection in November 2012.

After Obama won, Messina was named Director of Personnel for the Obama-Biden Transition team, helping Obama pick his cabinet.[25]

Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2012

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Messina was Obama's campaign manager during the 2012 presidential election. In January 2011, Messina left his job at the White House and began "a rolling series of personal seminars with the CEOs and senior executives of companies that included Apple, Facebook, Zynga, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, and DreamWorks".[26] His goal, he said, was to learn everything he could about "organizational growth, emerging technologies, marketing",[26] to better serve the President in his role as campaign manager during the 2012 re-election campaign.

For his work, the American Political Consultant's association named him the International Strategist of the Year.[27]

After second Obama campaign

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In January 2013, Messina became head of Organizing for Action (OFA), using the Obama For America database and other resources to support President Obama's legislative agenda in his second term. While OFA was formed in 2009 by the President-elect, it was reformed as a political-action non-profit group in January, 2013.

He founded The Messina Group,[when?][28] a full-service consulting firm with offices in Washington, New York, San Francisco, and London.[29]

In August 2013, Messina signed on as a consultant to the British Conservative Party, helping them successfully fend off a challenge from the Labour Party in 2015.[30] "Whereas British pollsters consistently missed that the Tories were moving into pole position, Messina's internal numbers showed for weeks they were on course to be the largest party."[31]

While some were surprised by Messina's move to work with the Tories, The Daily Telegraph pointed out that "this makes more sense when you consider that Mr Cameron's policies – such as support for gay marriage and confronting climate change – would probably make him a centrist Democrat in the United States."[31] The combination of "data-driven ground game, relentless messaging and sophisticated social media is Mr Messina's signature",[32] and as stated in The Daily Telegraph, is what Mr. Messina brought to the Cameron campaign, ultimately aiding in a stunning victory for the Conservatives.[33] In a statement, Messina also added his personal admiration for Prime Minister David Cameron.[34]

In January 2016, Messina was hired by Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi as campaign's advisor for the constitutional referendum in December.[35] The campaign was unsuccessful and Renzi was forced to resign as prime minister in its wake.[36] Messina received 400,000 euros for his advice.[37]

In June 2016, Messina began working with Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy,[13] using data and targeted social media that ultimately helped Rajoy win a bigger than expected victory in that year's elections and take charge of a minority government in October of that year.[38]

Messina worked with Prime Minister Theresa May as a campaign strategist for the 2017 United Kingdom general election.[39] Theresa May and the Conservatives suffered a very underwhelming performance, in which she successfully remained prime minister, however, did not manage to keep Conservatives in the majority.[40] For May, the election has been called a "disastrous gamble".[41]

Personal life

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Messina has Italian ancestry; in 2013 he received the Machiavelli Award as the Italian American Democrat of the Year.[42]

References

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  1. ^ "Obama's People". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
  2. ^ "Obama makes early appointments". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on November 17, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  3. ^ Tapper, Jake (January 27, 2011). "Jay Carney Picked as New White House Press Secretary". ABC News. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  4. ^ Zeleny, Jeff (April 2, 2011). "An Obama Insider, Running the Race From Afar". The New York Times.
  5. ^ "The Messina Group". Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  6. ^ Huey, Caitlin (April 11, 2011). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Jim Messina". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  7. ^ "Jim Messina, Obama's Enforcer". The Nation. March 30, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  8. ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (August 6, 2009). "White House Affirms Deal on Drug Cost". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  9. ^ Gerstein, Josh. "White House sets 'don't ask' strategy session - Josh Gerstein". Politico. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  10. ^ "Obama unveils 'Organizing for Action'". Politico. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  11. ^ "Obama campaign to support super PAC fundraising". Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  12. ^ Jacobs, Ben (May 8, 2015). "Does David Cameron's win mean Jim Messina is better than David Axelrod?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  13. ^ a b "May Hires Jim Messina for U.K. Conservative Election Team". Bloomberg.com. April 24, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  14. ^ "Messina Honored". School of Journalism, University of Montana. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  15. ^ "Obama Hires Boise High Graduate as Chief of Staff". New West Boise. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  16. ^ "How to get an Obama staff job - Andie Coller". Politico. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  17. ^ Thrush, Glenn. "Can Jim Messina get it done for President Obama? - Page 3". Politico. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  18. ^ Hastings, Michael (June 15, 2012). "Obama Campaign Manager Behind Anti-Gay Ad". BuzzFeed. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  19. ^ a b Kornblut, Anne E. (February 21, 2009). "Low-Profile Aide Messina Tackles Obama's Tough Political Problems". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
  20. ^ Bai, Matt (July 17, 2005). "The Framing Wars". The New York Times Magazine. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  21. ^ "James A. Messina relationship map". Muckety. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  22. ^ — President Truman. "James A. Messina (Jim) - Congressional Staffer Salary Data". Legistorm.com. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  23. ^ "Making a name". Missoula News. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  24. ^ "Battle Plans". The New Yorker. November 9, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  25. ^ Coller, Andie. "How to get an Obama staff job". Politico. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  26. ^ a b "Obama's CEO: Jim Messina Has a President to Sell". Bloomberg.com. June 15, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  27. ^ "2013 Pollie Award Winners". theaapc.org. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  28. ^ "JIM MESSINA opens The Messina Group, with focus on Obama and progressives -- GEITHNER plans no-fee college tour on the craft of crisis response -- BIG WIN FOR MAYOR BLOOMBERG in Chicago race". Politico. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  29. ^ "The Messina Group". Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  30. ^ "Jim Messina signs on as campaign adviser to Conservatives — in Britain". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  31. ^ a b "Jim Messina interview: how the pollsters got it wrong and why Labour lost". Coffee House. May 12, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  32. ^ "American Way: can Jim Messina do for David Cameron what he did for Barack Obama?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  33. ^ Erlanger, Steven; Castle, Stephen (May 8, 2015). "David Cameron and Conservatives Get Majority in British Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  34. ^ Stratton, Allegra (August 2, 2013). "Tories hire Obama campaign chief Jim Messina". BBC News. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  35. ^ Renzi assume Jim Messina per risolvere i problemi del Pd (come consigliato dal Foglio mesi fa) Archived 2016-09-12 at the Wayback Machine.
  36. ^ "Italy's Matteo Renzi loses vote and offers resignation". BBC News. December 5, 2016.
  37. ^ "Referendum, Jim Messina pagato 400 mila euro dal Pd per la campagna per il sì". The Huffington Post (in Italian). October 5, 2016.
  38. ^ "El secreto mejor guardado del triunfo de Rajoy: Big Data, Facebook y la gurú de Obama". Marketing Directo (in European Spanish). July 4, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  39. ^ "Believe it or not, but the Tories are running an energetic election campaign – you just can't see it". New Statesman. May 10, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  40. ^ Castle, Stephen (June 12, 2017). "Theresa May Battles to Hold On as U.K. Prime Minister". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  41. ^ "Analysis | Theresa May's disastrous gamble on the future of Britain". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  42. ^ "Jim Messina to receive Machiavelli Award as the Italian American Democrat of the Year at Inaugural Reception Sunday". Italian Americans News. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
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Political offices
Preceded by White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
2009–2011 		Succeeded by
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