This story has been updated with response from the Clinton campaign.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign is planning to formalize a key role for Jen O’Malley Dillon, the former deputy campaign manager for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, a source confirmed to NBC News late Tuesday night. Clinton’s spokespeople pushed back on that change Wednesday morning, saying the campaign is not planning to make that move “at this time.”
The potential addition comes on the heels of a significant loss for Clinton in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary Tuesday night.
O’Malley Dillon works for Precision Strategies and in 2009 served as executive director of the Democratic National Committee under then-Chairman Sen. Tim Kaine. In 2008, she was Obama’s battleground states director for his general election campaign.
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Both Bill and Hillary Clinton have been concerned about campaign strategy and messaging, according to sources.
Clinton told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on the eve of the New Hampshire primary that it would be political malpractice for her team not to “take stock” and examine what has worked and what has not as the race moves toward more diverse states.
Clinton’s comments hinted at a possible shake up in anticipation of a loss in the Granite State and in the wake of a much tighter win than expected in Iowa. The Clinton’s did not foresee the size of Tuesday night’s defeat in New Hampshire, compounding the apparent urgency to act.
The New York Times reported last August that O’Malley Dillon was informally advising the Clinton campaign, whose organizational structure had been criticized. At Precision, O’Malley Dillon is partners with Teddy Goff, who is taking a leadership role in the campaign’s digital strategy, as well as Stephanie Cutter, another former Obama deputy campaign manager, who informally advises the campaign. O’Malley Dillon also served as lead American consultant for Justin Trudeau in his successful campaign for prime minister of Canada. This article first appeared on NBCNews.com.
Andrea Mitchell
Andrea Mitchell is chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News.
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