Joseph Paul Trippi (born June 10, 1956) is an American political strategist who has worked on several gubernatorial,

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

, and

Congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

campaigns, including

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

for Governor of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and Doug Jones for U.S. Senate in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

. He has worked for several Democratic presidential campaigns, most notably as manager of the Howard Dean 2004 presidential campaign. He served as a political commentator for CNN as of 2018.

Early life and education

Trippi was born in

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest po ...

and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. Trippi began his career in the mid-1970s working on several local elections in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

while he was attending

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

, before leaving college a few credits shy of graduation to join the Ted Kennedy 1980 presidential campaign. During college he was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity.

Career

Trippi served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley's successful reelection bid in 1981 and his unsuccessful run in the

1982 California gubernatorial election The 1982 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 2, 1982. The Republican nominee, Attorney General George Deukmejian, narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. Incumbent Governor Jerry Brown did no ...

. During Bradley's gubernatorial campaign, Trippi installed one of the first in-house computers for a political campaign, the DEC-

PDP11 The PDP-11 is a series of 16-bit minicomputers sold by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) from 1970 into the 1990s, one of a set of products in the Programmed Data Processor (PDP) series. In total, around 600,000 PDP-11s of all models were sol ...

. Trippi used it for fundraising and targeting.

National

In 2010, Trippi was a senior strategist and media consultant in Jerry Brown’s successful run for reelection as California Governor. The Brown ads Trippi & Associates produced received four Pollie awards for excellence in political media and ''Time'' named one ad, "Echo," the best ad of 2010.

Andrew Romanoff Harlan Andrew Romanoff (born August 24, 1966) is an American politician, attorney, and academic. A Democrat, he was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009, serving as Speaker from 2005 to 2009. He was a candidate fo ...

, who challenged the incumbent Senator

Michael Bennet Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Colorado, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed t ...

in the 2010 United States Senate election in Colorado, announced his campaign had hired Trippi as one of its four new consultants. Trippi worked on a number of recent House victories for Representatives

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the fi ...

Janice Hahn Janice Kay Hahn (born March 30, 1952) is an American politician serving as the member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from the 4th district since 2016 and Chair of Los Angeles County since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, s ...

Mark Takano Mark Allan Takano ( ; born December 10, 1960) is an American politician and academic who has been the United States representative for California's 41st congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Takano became the firs ...

, and

Seth Moulton Seth Wilbur Moulton (born October 24, 1978) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 6th congressional district since 2015. A former United States Marine Corps, Mari ...

. Moulton, a former Marine from Massachusetts, won in a shocking come-from-behind upset. The campaign overcame millions in outside spending to beat 18-year incumbent John Tierney in the primary and

Richard Tisei Richard R. Tisei (; born August 13, 1962) is an American politician and realtor from Massachusetts. A Republican, he served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court for a combined 26 years, eventually becoming Minority Leader in the ...

in the targeted general election. In a 2015 article from ''The Boston Globe'', Moulton recalled nationally renowned pollster Mark Mellman telling him to quit the race because it would be "statistically impossible" to win. In 2017, Trippi worked on the special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions on behalf of former US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Doug Jones. In his victory speech, Jones referred to Trippi as the "greatest political consultant in the world". After the historic come-from-behind victory in Alabama, Trippi worked for Democratic candidates in both of the 2018 United States Senate elections in Mississippi Trippi worked with Howard Sherman for seat currently held by incumbent

Roger Wicker Roger Frederick Wicker (born July 5, 1951) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Mississippi, in office since 2007. A member of the Re ...

, and with former Secretary of Agriculture

Mike Espy Alphonso Michael Espy (born November 30, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 25th United States Secretary of Agriculture from 1993 to 1994. He was both the first African American and first person from the Deep South to h ...

in the special election for the Senate seat vacated by

Thad Cochran William Thad Cochran (; December 7, 1937 – May 30, 2019) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator for Mississippi from 1978 until his resignation due to health issues in 2018. A Repub ...

who decided to resign for health reasons. In 2018, Trippi worked on the campaign of Janet Garrett, a retired schoolteacher and union leader running to unseat the conservative founder of the Freedom Caucus, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, in Ohio's 4th congressional district. Trippi currently serves as senior adviser to Senator Doug Jones and Senate candidate Teresa Tomlinson. Trippi joined

The Lincoln Project The Lincoln Project is an American political action committee (PAC) formed in late 2019 by former and current moderate Republicans. During the 2020 presidential election, it aimed to prevent the re-election of Donald Trump and defeat all Re ...

in July 2021 as a senior advisor.

International

Trippi has also worked on international political campaigns over the years. In 1993, Trippi worked for then-

PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

leader

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou ( el, Ανδρέας Γεωργίου Παπανδρέου, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics, known for founding the political party PASOK, wh ...

’s successful campaign of Prime Minister of Greece, as well as for his son, George Papandreou in 2007. Trippi advised former

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern ...

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of the ...

in 2005. In 2006, he worked for

Romano Prodi Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prime ...

on his winning race for

Prime Minister of Italy The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...

. In 2008, Trippi helped

Morgan Tsvangirai Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (; ; 10 March 1952 – 14 February 2018) was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was President of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democrati ...

and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

’s opposition party, the

Movement for Democratic Change Movement for Democratic Change or MDC may refer to: * Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T), the former main opposition party in Zimbabwe ** Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai Congress 2006, the second MDC–T congress ...

receive the most votes over

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...

in elections marred by violence. He also brought media attention to Mugabe’s democratic subversion and violence which led to a

unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other na ...

and Tsvangarai becoming the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. As part of the unity government, Tsvangirai designated Roy Bennett as Deputy Minister of Agriculture on February 10, 2009. But Mugabe refused to swear Bennett into office, and three days later Bennett was arrested and charged with treason. Tsvangirai’s party reported that Bennett was being denied food in prison. Trippi led an international campaign to put pressure on Mugabe to release Bennett, and days after his release on March 12, Bennett thanked Trippi for his efforts. Trippi was hired by the Libertas political party to work on their campaign for the

2009 European Parliament election The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making th ...

. In January 2010,

Michael Hastings Michael or Mike Hastings may refer to: *Michael Hastings (playwright) (1938–2011), British playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and poet *Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun (1942–2012), English-born Australian rice farmer, Scottish aris ...

reported that Joe Trippi was working in Iraq to help launch a secular moderate Shiite party: the Ahrar party headed by

Iyad Jamal Al-Din Ayad Jamal Aldin or Iyad Jamal al-Din ( ar, ), full name Iyad Raouf Mohammed Jamal al-Din (born 1961), is a prominent Iraqi intellectual, politician and religious cleric. He was a member of the Iraqi parliament A day later, Hastings also reported that 20 of Ahrar’s candidates had been struck from the ballot. Beginning in October 2011, Trippi advised on the implementation of the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, which was tasked with looking into the

incidents ''Incidents'' is a 1987 collection of four essays by Roland Barthes. It was published posthumously by François Wahl, Barthes' literary executor. Summary In the first essay, ''La Lumiere du Sud-Ouest'', first published in ''L'Humanité'' in 1977 ...

that occurred during the period of unrest in Bahrain in February and March 2011, saying he "had no problem working for them" because they were "one of the progressive countries in the Middle Eastern Gulf."U.S. not "standing idly by" in Bahrain - Salon.com
/ref> The commission released a 500-page report which criticized security forces and provided various conclusions, observations, and recommendations to the government. Trippi ended his work in Bahrain in April 2012. In 2011, Trippi provided strategic support for the campaign of

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to f ...

in the Nigerian presidential election. In 2015, Trippi helped guide the new media strategy for the election of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, helping him build a following of over 800,000 Nigerians and leading CNN to declare Jonathan the “Facebook President.” Trippi served as a senior strategist for

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

’s successful bid for

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

President in 2017, leading to Ramaphosa becoming the President of South Africa.

Political campaigns

1984 presidential election

Trippi remained in California to hold his first and only government position as Lieutenant Governor Leo T. McCarthy's Deputy Chief of Staff, before overseeing several successes in Vice President

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesot ...

’s 1984 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Starting with a come-from-behind victory at the Maine State Convention, Trippi eventually managed operations as the state director in Iowa and Pennsylvania, where Mondale won by 30 and 14 points respectively.

1984–1988

Following the Mondale campaign, Trippi joined Senator Ted Kennedy’s PAC, the Fund for a Democratic Majority, as Deputy Director under Paul Tully. At the time,

Bob Shrum Robert M. "Bob" Shrum (born July 21, 1943) is the Director of the Center for the Political Future and the Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics at the University of Southern California, where he is a Professor of the Practice ...

was chairman of the committee, but he soon resigned to start the media firm Caddell, Doak and Shrum, taking Trippi with him to be Vice President of the firm. During Trippi’s tenure at what became Doak and Shrum, the firm worked on several media campaigns for gubernatorial and senatorial candidates including those of Virginia Governor

Gerald Baliles Gerald Lee Baliles (July 8, 1940 – October 29, 2019) was a Virginia lawyer and Democratic politician whose career spanned great social and technological changes in his native state. The 65th Governor of Virginia (from 1986 to 1990), the na ...

, Senator

Alan Cranston Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 – December 31, 2000) was an American politician and journalist who served as a United States Senator from California from 1969 to 1993, and as a President of the World Federalist Association from 1949 to ...

of California, Senator

Barbara Mikulski Barbara Ann Mikulski ( ; born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she also served in the United States House of Repre ...

of Maryland, and Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey. Shrum has attributed Trippi with conceiving and producing the famous spot on Cranston’s campaign, "Zschau’s Greatest Hits".

1988 presidential election

In 1987, Trippi left Doak and Shrum to work on

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart ('' né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs ...

’s 1988 presidential bid with former colleague Paul Tully as deputy political director. He was assigned to manage reporters who surrounded the Hart home in Colorado, where Hart's wife, Lee, was on the weekend when the Donna Rice story broke. Trippi lied to a Pinkerton guard in the presence of reporters at the gate of the property -- saying that residents of the home were about to go to sleep -- to cover the subsequent, surreptitious escape of Lee Hart, hiding on the floor of a van Trippi was driving. Two days later, as Gary and Lee Hart flew back from New Hampshire to Colorado to announce he was suspending his campaign, Trippi took part in staging a press motorcade to a canceled Hart event, a subterfuge intended to delay discovery of Hart's flight. He joined

Dick Gephardt Richard Andrew Gephardt (; born January 31, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States Representative from Missouri from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was House Majority Leader from ...

's team as deputy campaign manager after Hart withdrew from the race. There, Trippi was instrumental in the creation of the "Hyundai" ad, a television spot which received praise for launching Gephardt from last place in the polls to winning the Iowa caucuses.

1992 presidential election

During the 1992 election cycle, Trippi consulted on the Presidential campaigns of Governor

Douglas Wilder Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 66th Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. He was the first African American to serve as governor of a U.S. state since the Reconstruction ...

of Virginia and

of California. For Brown's campaign, Trippi and colleague Joe Costello orchestrated the first successful use of an 800 number in politics, raising $8 million by advertising the number on television and during debates.

1992–2004

Throughout the rest of the 1990s, Trippi worked as a media consultant and producer for multiple successful congressional races, including

Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden (; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the senior United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the United States House ...

’s run for Oregon's Senate seat,

Jim Moran James Patrick Moran Jr. (born May 16, 1945) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria, Virginia from 1985 to 1990, and as the U.S. representative for (including the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria, all of Arlingt ...

's in Virginia’s 8th district, and Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky's in Pennsylvania’s 13th district, which had been held by a Republican for almost 90 years. In 2002, when five Democratic congressmen were redistricted into Republican majority districts and forced in contests against Republican incumbents, Trippi worked as a strategist and media consultant for Congressman

Tim Holden Thomas Timothy Holden (born March 5, 1957) is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2013. Holden was the dean of the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation during ...

, the only one of the five to win.

2004 presidential election

As national campaign manager for Vermont Governor

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 200 ...

’s presidential campaign in 2004, Trippi used online technology to organize what he envisioned would become "the largest grassroots movement" in presidential politics at the time. One of these methods included the blog entitled Blog for America where the campaign could communicate directly with supporters. Another was DeanTV, an online streaming platform playing videos and clips from the campaign trail. The campaign also developed technology for a social media site that enabled supporters to connect and campaign for Dean together. Through this innovative use of the Internet for small-donor fundraising, "Dean for America" raised more money than any Democratic presidential campaign to that point – all with donations averaging less than $100.

2004–2017

Trippi joined Jerry Brown again in 2006 serving as media consultant and strategist for his successful bid for California Attorney General. During this cycle he also produced the media for John Hall’s winning campaign for New York’s 19th district congressional seat.

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...

hired Trippi in 2007 as a senior adviser for his 2008 presidential campaign. He also worked as media strategist and a senior adviser for Doug Jones' successful campaign in the 2017 U.S. Senate special election in Alabama, running for the seat left open when

Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United Stat ...

was appointed as

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Other work and advocacy

Apart from campaign politics, Trippi has been involved in many other facets of the political world. He was named a fellow at the

Harvard Institute of Politics The Institute of Politics (IOP) is an institute of Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University that was created to serve as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, as well as to inspire Harvard undergraduates to consider careers in polit ...

and at the New Politics Institute, a think tank of the New Democrat Network. He also serves on the advisory board to nonpartisan organization Why Tuesday? that encourages increased voter participation. He founded the consultancies Trippi & Associates and Trippi International in 2004. He has had roles on various cable and broadcast networks, previously as a contributor on

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politic ...

and

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...

, and a political analyst on CBS News. Trippi has consulted with a number of leading non-profits and corporations including the

Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...

, the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more tha ...

, Best Friends Animal Society, Monster.com,

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

Daimler AG The Mercedes-Benz Group Aktiengesellschaft, AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It ...

SES Americom SES Americom was a major commercial satellite operator of North American geosynchronous satellites based in the United States. The company started as RCA Americom in 1975 before being bought by General Electric in 1986 and then later acquired by ...

Corning Inc. Corning Incorporated is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company that specializes in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scien ...

, LabCorp, IBM,

Lionsgate Films Lionsgate Films (formerly known as Cinépix Film Properties) is an American film production and film distribution studio, headquartered in Santa Monica and founded in Canada, and is the flagship division of Lionsgate Entertainment. It is the lar ...

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

, and Wave Systems.

Personal life

Trippi is a resident of the

Eastern Shore of Maryland The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula tha ...

Published work

References

External links

Joe Trippi's official blog
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trippi, Joe American campaign managers American political consultants Mass media theorists San Jose State University alumni Harvard Kennedy School staff American people of Italian descent 1956 births Living people