Robby Mook will take over as the head of the House Democrats' campaign arm for the 2012 election.

Considered a rising star within the ranks of the party's staff, Mook is very familiar with the workings of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. During the 2010 election cycle, he served as the committee's political director and then as the head of the massive independent expenditure effort that oversaw tens of millions of dollars in spending in dozens of districts around the country.

Mook's hiring is the first major decision for incoming DCCC Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.).

"He has managed successful campaigns in states where we are going to compete aggressively: New Hampshire, Ohio and Nevada," Israel said.

Mook rose to prominence during the 2008 Democratic presidential fight, running the Ohio and Indiana primaries and the Nevada caucuses for then-New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton won each of those contests. After Clinton fell short of the nomination, Mook moved to New Hampshire to run the 2008 Senate campaign of Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, a race she won. He spent the entirety of the 2010 campaign on the DCCC payroll.

Mook now faces the unenviable task of picking up the electoral pieces for Democrats after a 63-seat loss in the 2010 election.

"It's an enormous privilege to work with Congressman Israel and House Democrats to elect a Democratic majority in 2012," Mook said. "This cycle is full of opportunity for House Democrats, and I couldn't be more excited to be at the committee."

The National Republican Congressional Committee has yet to announce any of its senior staff, but continuity is likely to be the rule. Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) will stay on at the helm for a second term in 2012.

chris.cillizza@wpost.com