Iowa aide to presidential hopeful Jim Webb resigns

The Democratic strategist who was running the Iowa effort for presidential hopeful Jim Webb has resigned, she confirmed to The Des Moines Register this afternoon.

"I resigned last week," Rania Batrice said Wednesday, after activists in Iowa had contacted the Register.

Webb is a 69-year-old Vietnam War veteran who served as U.S. Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan and represented Virginia in the U.S. Senate for one term from 2007 to 2013. If he jumps into the 2016 presidential race, he would be a long shot with tough odds against the heavy Democratic favorite, Hillary Clinton.

Batrice, a Texas native, added: "My resigning does not change my respect for him and what he's been able to accomplish in his life. I wish him the best.

A spokesman for Webb's presidential exploratory committee, Craig Crawford, said: "Our exploratory committee is reassigning staff to ensure people are tasked with opportunities that best serve their strengths. Joe Stanley, an accomplished professional who has worked with Jim since his 2006 Senate campaign, will be coming to Iowa."

As Webb eyes a White House bid, he is appealing to the center of the 2016 electorate, talking in Iowa about economic fairness, foreign policy, national infrastructure and a government where people from both political parties "work together for the common good."

Webb had announced in March in a statement shared with the Register that he had hired Batrice as his senior political adviser. She moved from Texas to Des Moines, with her two dogs, earlier this year.

Batrice had some Iowa experience. She was the campaign manager for Iowa U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack's re-election in 2008. She worked in Iowa and South Carolina for John Edwards' presidential campaign in 2007. More recently, she was campaign manager in a North Dakota congressional race, communications director for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, and executive director of the Freedom Project to help survivors of human trafficking. She has a 2003 degree in psychology and art from Austin College in Texas.

Webb was last in Iowa on May 6 for stops in Sioux City. Batrice has been at his side, introducing him to Iowans and snapping photos of him with likely caucusgoers who came to his events. Webb has done a total of 17 events in Iowa this presidential election cycle, which began the day after the 2012 general election.