Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) continues to build out her 2020 team with some of the party’s top talent, adding two Democratic National Committee officials who were key players in the 2018 midterms as well as a high-ranking Democratic Senate Campaign Committee operative, two sources familiar with the moves told POLITICO.

Sources also told POLITICO that Warren is preparing another trip to New Hampshire this weekend and making preparations to tour the early presidential primary states of South Carolina and Nevada before the month's end.


The three new hires, all of whom have national experience with digital fundraising and organizing, have come on board at a time when experienced hands are at a premium in a sprawling Democratic field.

Joining Warren’s exploratory campaign is Caitlin Mitchell, who most recently served as the DNC’s chief mobilization officer, helping raise more than $100 million in grassroots donations in the 2018 midterm cycle. Mitchell also worked as a deputy digital director for the DNC and as vice president of digital at EMILY’s List. Mitchell, who left the DNC earlier this month, will take on a senior role in the Warren exploratory campaign, helping with digital organizing.

Also coming on board is Tessa Simonds, who served as the DNC’s director of grassroots mobilization in 2018, leading the largest nationwide digital organizing program in the country. In 2016, she served as the DNC’s interim digital director. Before joining the DNC, Simonds worked with the Texas Democratic Party.

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Tracey Lewis, who most recently worked at the DSCC as deputy executive director and chief operating officer and has experience in New Hampshire and southern states, is joining the Warren team in a senior role. Lewis returns to Warren’s camp after serving as the senator’s 2012 deputy campaign manager.


The latest round of hiring comes after the campaign’s addition of an A-list of Iowa staffers and Richard McDaniel — a sought-after operative who served as Hillary Clinton’s primary states regional director, and field director and political director for Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.). She also hired Joe Rospars, who headed former President Barack Obama's digital strategy in 2008 and 2012.

With a New Year’s Eve exploratory presidential campaign rollout, Warren has dashed ahead of the potential Democratic field; she’s been filling top staff positions and has visited both Iowa and New Hampshire before other potential contenders have even gotten off the ground. Earlier this month, Warren drew at-capacity crowds across the Iowa, including one packed Des Moines venue that attracted more than 1,000 people.

Warren’s staff moves have come against the backdrop of a surge in campaign announcements. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) announced on CNN Friday she intended to run for president. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro launched his campaign on Saturday. On Tuesday night, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York announced an exploratory White House bid while appearing as a guest on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

