Advertisement Buttigieg begins building NH staff with hiring of Ceraso, Riel, Donohoe State director Ceraso was with Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016 Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Pete Buttigieg has begun building a New Hampshire presidential campaign staff with the hiring of a state director, outreach coordinator and communications director.The campaign’s state director, Michael Ceraso, was a staffer on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign as deputy New Hampshire director and then state director in California.Also working for Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, in the first primary state are state Rep. Cole Riel and Kevin Donohoe.The trio “will focus on organizing a robust grassroots campaign in New Hampshire and mobilizing voters around Mayor Pete’s message of freedom, security, and democracy,” the campaign said Monday. Additional hires will be announced later in the campaign.The Buttigieg campaign said Ceraso has more than a decade of experience in Democratic campaigns and organizing, including two successful cycles in New Hampshire. In addition to his 2016 work in New Hampshire for Sanders, who won the first-in-the-nation primary, he was deputy field director in the Granite State in 2012 for then-President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign. Ceraso has also managed legislative and local races in South Carolina, New York and Washington, D.C.Most recently, Ceraso was a co-founder and executive director of Winning Margins, a firm focused on bringing resources to underfunded candidates in underserved communities. He was also campaign manager for Krish Vignarajah’s Maryland gubernatorial bid.Riel has been hired as New Hampshire outreach coordinator. A member of the House Education Committee and vice chair of the Goffstown Budget Committee, he is a former executive director of the Manchester City Democratic Committee.Riel previously managed the campaigns of Hassan Essa for alderman in Manchester and Kelly Boyer for Goffstown Select Board member. Riel is a lifelong Granite Stater who is a graduate of UNH-Manchester.Donohoe, state communications director, is a New Hampshire native who grew up in North Hampton. He joined the Buttigieg campaign after serving as senior communications adviser and chief spokesperson for the Florida Democratic Party, where he led the party’s communications for the 2018 gubernatorial race and 2019 legislative session.During the 2017 election cycle, Donohoe was coordinated campaign communications director for the Democratic Party of Virginia. He previously served on the communications team for the progressive group NextGen.The campaign said Buttigieg will return to the state on May 19 to participate in a nationally televised town hall. He visited the state twice in April.“Pete for America (the title of the campaign organization) is committed to building a volunteer-led, grassroots New Hampshire team that will organize and mobilize the energy and support for Mayor Pete across the state,” the campaign said.The Buttigieg campaign also announced the hiring of four campaign staffers in Iowa on Monday.