Biden Adds Fundraiser Rufus Gifford as Deputy Campaign Manager

(Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden is adding a top Democratic fundraiser to his campaign’s senior ranks as the presumptive nominee works to bulk up his team for the general election fight against President Donald Trump.

Rufus Gifford is joining the campaign as a deputy campaign manager focused on the intersection of finance with policy and political work, according to a source familiar with the role. He will also be involved in some campaign communications work. Gifford was Barack Obama’s 2012 finance chair and the U.S. ambassador to Denmark during Obama’s second term. He also ran unsuccessfully for Congress from Massachusetts.

Gifford joins a campaign that is working to pivot from the primary to the general election. Biden signaled the first big change in mid-March when he hired Jen O’Malley Dillon as campaign manager and ultimately sent his campaign’s previous manager, Greg Schultz, to the Democratic National Committee. Gifford’s hiring is one of the first big public moves by O’Malley Dillon, who’s offered few hints about how the campaign’s staffing will change under her leadership.

Biden’s campaign struggled to raise money until after his win in the South Carolina primary in late February. Ultimately, he raised $46.7 million in March -- the biggest monthly total yet of his campaign -- even as uncertainty grew over the coronavirus pandemic. But Trump and the Republican National Committee still hold a commanding money lead over Biden and the Democrats.

Biden’s campaign has two other deputy campaign managers. Kate Bedingfield focuses on communications and Pete Kavanaugh leads political and field organization.

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