Sanders’s Massachusetts state director ‘moves on’ from campaign

The Massachusetts state campaign director for Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential bid has departed the campaign after accepting a position with Rep. Joe Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) Senate campaign.

Joe Caiazzo left the Sanders campaign after previously serving as its director in New Hampshire, where the senator has been polling well ahead of the state’s early primary, Politico first reported on Monday.

“Joe has been one of our first hires and was critical in building out our N.H. operation,” campaign manager Faiz Shakir said in a statement to Politico. “We wish Joe nothing but the best in his next endeavor and thank him for playing such a critical role in the beginning of this campaign. Bernie Sanders is going to win New Hampshire and a lot of that credit will go to Joe Caiazzo.”

The campaign had placed Caiazzo in charge of its Massachusetts operations in September, stating at the time that Sanders was “not conceding Massachusetts to anyone,” including fellow top-tier contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Sanders’s campaign did not immediately return a request for further comment from The Hill on Tuesday.

The Vermont senator has remained in the top tier of Democratic candidates throughout the primary so far, though both he and former Vice President Joe Biden trailed Warren in Massachusetts in an October survey.