Symone Sanders, a senior adviser to Joe Biden's 2020 campaign, also served as lead spokeswoman for Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential bid. | Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP 2020 elections New Biden senior adviser Sanders donated to Buttigieg in March

Symone Sanders, a prominent Democratic communications strategist who has joined former Vice President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign as a senior adviser, donated $250 to Pete Buttigieg in March, Federal Election Commission filings show.

The donation to Buttigieg's Pete for America committee was sent when the South Bend, Ind., mayor was in the exploratory phase of his presidential campaign and came a month before Biden announced his candidacy.


Biden's campaign said Thursday, hours after he announced his candidacy, that Sanders would serve as a senior adviser.

Biden's campaign declined to comment on the donation, and Sanders did not respond to inquiries.

Biden and Buttigieg in some ways have similar appeal to voters in the Democratic primary. Both aim to rally Midwestern voters and appeal to more moderate voters in the region.

Sanders in 2016 was the lead spokeswoman for Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign. The Vermont lawmaker is more aligned with the liberal activist wing of the Democratic Party than Biden or Buttigieg. Symone Sanders has also served as a political commentator for CNN and advised Priorities USA, one of the most prominent Democratic super PACs.

Symone Sanders is one of over two dozen senior staffers the Biden campaign announced on Thursday. Greg Schultz is serving as campaign manager, and Kate Bedingfield and Pete Kavanaugh are deputy campaign managers, the campaign said. Bedingfield is also serving as communications director.

Anthony Bernal is also a deputy campaign manager and chief of staff to Dr. Jill Biden. Cristobal Alex and Brandon English are senior advisers.

Daniel McCarthy is chief operations officer and chief financial officer. Dana Remus is general counsel. Erin Wilson is national political director, Vanessa Cardenas is the campaign's national coalitions director and Michelle Kwan is surrogates director. Kurt Bagley is national organizing director, and Katie Petrelius is national finance director. P.J. Alampi is serving as director of digital content, and Becca Siegel is chief analytics officer. Ashley Williams is the campaign's trip director.

The campaign also has a trio of deputy communications directors. Kate Berner is deputy communications director for messaging, Meghan Hays is deputy communications director for strategic planning and Bill Russo is deputy communications director for press.

Jamal Brown and T.J. Ducklo are serving as national press secretaries, and Remi Yamamoto is serving as traveling national press secretary. Sherice Perry is the communications director to Dr. Jill Biden and Andrew Bates is the director of rapid response. Kamau Marshall is serving as the director of strategic communications.

