Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign is elevating top adviser Anita Dunn’s role in response to a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, a longtime ally familiar with the decision told The Hill on Friday.
Dunn, a veteran Democratic operative, has worked on numerous campaigns, including former President Obama’s 2008 run. She later served in Obama’s White House, where she became a trusted adviser to Biden.
Until now, Dunn has been focused solely on communication strategy for the Biden campaign. According to an internal campaign email obtained by The New York Times, Dunn will now be “working closely with us on campaign strategy and overall coordination on budget and personnel as we build a bigger campaign for the next phase.”
Long thought to be one of the front-runners in the Democratic primary race, Biden finished fourth in Iowa, behind Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
The move also comes four days before the New Hampshire primary, where a poll again shows Biden trailing the pack. The latest Boston Globe/Suffolk poll has Biden in fourth place at 11 percent. Warren is in third with 13 percent, while Buttigieg and Sanders are in a dead heat with 23 and 24 percent support, respectively.
The candidates will be on the stage Friday night for a debate at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire.
Amie Parnes contributed.