Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign announced that a pair of Pennsylvania political operatives will lead the state campaign’s operation.
First reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Biden campaign has hired Brendan McPhillips to serve as the State Director and Sinceré Harris as the campaign’s Senior Advisor in Pennsylvania.
Both have lengthy backgrounds in the Keystone State’s political scene.
McPhillips’ most recent role was serving as the Iowa State Director for Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign. He’s also served as the campaign manager for Philadelphia City Councilmember Helen Gym’s 2015 campaign and as the senior advisor in 2019. He was PA Political Director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016. That spring, he was Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s ampaign manager for U.S. Senate in 2016. He served as campaign manager for Andrew Gillum’s victory in the 2018 Democratic primary for governor of Florida.
A release from the Biden campaign said McPhillips has, “over a decade of experience championing progressive candidates and causes.”
Harris has been the Executive Director of the PA Democratic Party since 2015. Prior to working for the state Democratic Party, Harris served as the Deputy Statewide Political Director for Tom Wolf’s gubernatorial campaign. After Wolf’s victory, Harris worked in the Wolf administration in the Office of Legislative Affairs. Like McPhillips, she also worked with Obama’s campaign.
The Republican National Committee and the Trump Victory effort named Brittney Robinson the Pennsylvania Director in May 2019.
Pennsylvania has taken center stage in the presidential election over the past month and will be in the spotlight once again on Thursday. Vice President Mike Pence will be making multiple stops in the state from Lancaster through Philadelphia, while Biden will be in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Biden made four separate appearances in Pennsylvania during the month of June, while Vice President Mike Pence made a visit to western PA in mid-June.
President Donald Trump’s most recent appearance in the state was when he spoke for 30 minutes at a medical equipment distribution center in the Lehigh Valley in mid-May.
The most recent polling show a tight race between the former VP and Trump in the Keystone State, although Biden currently has a narrow edge.
The Real Clear Politics average shows Biden ahead of Trump by 6.5 points in Pennsylvania.