| Jim Messina | |
|---|---|
| Jim Messina in May 2009 | |
| White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations |
|
| In office January 20, 2009 – January 26, 2011 Served alongside Mona Sutphen |
|
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Blake Gottesman |
| Succeeded by | Alyssa Mastromonaco |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1969 (age 42–43) Denver, Colorado |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | University of Montana (B.A.) |
| Occupation | political staffer |
| Website | www.barackobama.com |
Jim Messina (born 1969)[1] is campaign manager for President Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign.[2] He previously served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations for President Obama from 2009 to 2011.[3][4] Prior to taking up that post he was Director of Personnel for the transition team.
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Messina was born in Denver, Colorado, and raised in Boise, Idaho. In 1980, as a fourth grader, he volunteered to represent Jimmy Carter in a class mock election. He graduated from Boise High School in Boise, Idaho in 1988 and earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Montana in 1993.[5] In 1993, as a college senior, Messina managed Democrat Mayor Dan Kemmis's successful re-election bid for Mayor of Missoula, Montana.[6]
In 1995, Messina was hired by Democrat U.S. Senator Max Baucus of Montana. They describe their relationship as father-son-like. In 1999, he became Chief of Staff to Democratic U.S. Congressman Carolyn McCarthy of New York.
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, a distraction to help take attention away from the credible Republican candidate.[7]
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[8][9]
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.[10]
Messina has also managed and consulted on many other political campaigns from Alaska to New York, including Montana State Senator Jon Tester's successful election in 2006.[10]
Messina became President Obama's White House Deputy Chief of Staff and earned the nickname "the fixer."[11] Dan Pfeiffer calls Messina “the most powerful person in Washington that you haven’t heard of.”[12] He also said that Messina and Rahm Emanuel had a "crazy relationship" and explained that “You’d be in a meeting, and Rahm would bark out that something needed to be done;. Jim would disappear from Rahm’s office, pop through the door a few minutes later and say, ‘Got it!’ or ‘Got him!’”[13]
He said that Obama may compete in states he lost in 2008 such as Georgia and Arizona.[14]