New Hampshire has been particularly friendly to Sen. Bernie Sanders. | AP Photo Sanders building out New Hampshire operation

Bernie Sanders’ insurgent presidential campaign is building out its New Hampshire staff with three new top hires, taking its total number of paid staffers to 53 in the first-in-the-nation primary state.

Karthik Ganapathy, previously of the environmental group 350.org, will take the role of communications director, and Carli Stevenson — a former American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees official in Indiana — will serve as his deputy. Melissa Byrne is coming on board as digital director in the state.


New Hampshire has been particularly friendly to Sanders, whose campaign has overtaken Hillary Clinton’s in the state, according to most polls. The Burlington, VT-based campaign has been working to build up a traditional infrastructure in New Hampshire in recent weeks.

Clinton’s campaign, which is made up largely of in-state veterans, had 50 paid campaign staffers by the beginning of October. Sanders’ New Hampshire team has grown rapidly, as a handful of out-of-state operatives have flocked in to help the senator.

Sanders’ state director Julia Barnes is the former executive director of Vermont’s Democratic Party — and a veteran of New Hampshire politics — and his state political director Kurt Ehrenberg is another longtime in-state operative.

The new hires are each experienced Democratic strategists. Ganapathy worked for the congressional campaign of Rob Zerban in 2012, and for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio when he was Public Advocate.