Democratic strategists question influence of Obama-era campaign operatives in party's future

Some Democratic strategists are questioning the relation run operatives — who are associated with erstwhile President Barack Obama's statesmanlike campaigns — volition play going guardant arsenic the Democratic Party scrambles to determination guardant aft erstwhile Vice President Kamala Harris' loss.

"I’m atrocious — I don’t privation a surgeon who keeps sidesplitting patients," Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis told NBC News astir the acceptable of Obama-era run operatives who contributed to respective modern Democratic campaigns. "It’s beauteous casual to triumph with a feline similar Obama."

Several of those who led Obama's campaigns besides worked for Harris successful 2024, arsenic good arsenic erstwhile President Joe Biden, until helium dropped retired and mislaid to President Donald Trump. Obama run alums Jen O'Malley Dillion and Stephanie Cutter worked connected Harris' campaign. Other erstwhile Obama run aides, Mitch Stewart and Rufus Gifford, worked connected Biden's run arsenic well, NBC News reported.

DNC Finance Chair Chris Korge called retired David Plouffe, Obama's 2008 run manager and an advisor to Harris' campaign, successful an interrogation with NBC News earlier this month. Plouffe placed blame for Harris' nonaccomplishment connected Biden, telling authors Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson that the erstwhile president "totally f----- us."

President Joe Biden and erstwhile President Barack Obama. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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"To blasted Biden present is to displacement the accountability from the radical who mislaid the race: the consultants, the alleged gurus," Korge said during the interview. "It’s clip to re-evaluate the usage of consultants and bring successful caller forward-looking people."

"The aged Obama playbook nary longer works," Korge added.  

Another Democratic strategist, Mike Nellis, told NBC News that the Democratic Party had nostalgia for the Obama era, but noted that the authorities person changed.

"One of the challenges the Democratic Party does person is that determination is nostalgia for the Obama era, some successful presumption of Barack Obama being successful the White House and what that meant for the state and the benignant of enactment that we have, but besides similar the benignant of our politics," Nellis said. "There’s been a de-evolution of our authorities implicit the past 10 years, and it’s conscionable a precise antithetic era."

Jen O'Malley Dillon, run manager for Democratic statesmanlike campaigner U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, is seen earlier Harris gives her concession code astatine Howard University successful Washington, D.C., November 6, 2024.  ((Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images))

"I didn’t interaction the Pod Save America guys oregon a New York property steadfast to say, ‘how bash I grip this?’" Kleeb said. "Our squad virtually got into the league country astatine our authorities enactment bureau and said, ‘Let’s propulsion retired ideas connected however we tin propulsion backmost connected this, due to the fact that we’re not going to fto them instrumentality down John Ewing connected this bulls--- again.’" 

Kleeb added that she wanted each the operatives astatine the table, and spoke retired against "intraparty fighting." Another ex-Obama run aide, Steve Schale, defended Plouffe and called him "one of the sharpest guys around."

Chuck Rocha, a erstwhile Bernie Sanders run advisor, pointed retired that the run consultants are usually locked-in with candidates earlier they adjacent denote their campaigns.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris accepts the chairman's grant during the 56th NAACP Image Awards connected Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, successful Pasadena, Calif.  (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

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"Most of these aforesaid consultants person locked successful these candidates earlier they ever announce, and truthful there’s ne'er immoderate accidental for immoderate caller humor to beryllium a portion of these campaigns," Rocha said. "They’re each connected."

David Hogg, a DNC vice chair, told NBC that the party's governmental operatives clasp connected to powerfulness for excessively long, comparing them to respective Democratic lawmakers successful power. He besides said young voters don't truly person a representation of Obama's presidency.

"I don’t deliberation they person 1 to beryllium honorable with you. That’s portion of the challenge," Hogg said. "For galore of these younger radical who are nether the property of 20, close now… they don’t retrieve overmuch of what Obama talked about. They grew up successful the governmental discourse of Donald Trump and him being normalized, due to the fact that that was what authorities was to them increasing up."

After Harris lost, Plouffe, Dillion, Cutter and Quentin Fulks, each portion of her run operation, joined the co-hosts of Pod Save America, a podcast hosted by each ex-Obama aides, to discuss what went wrong successful the election.

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Liberal critics accused them of gaslighting and taking nary accountability for the loss.