Jim Messina (born October 29, 1969)
is an American
political adviser who was the
White House deputy chief of staff for operations under President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
from 2009 to 2011 and served as the
campaign manager for Obama's successful
2012 re-election campaign. His "innovative fusion of technology and politics led Google chairman
Eric Schmidt to call the 2012 race 'the best-run campaign ever'." He is the CEO of the Messina Group.
Messina became President Obama's
White House deputy chief of staff
The White House deputy chief of staff is officially the top aide to the White House chief of staff, who is the senior aide to the president of the United States. The deputy chief of staff usually has an office in the West Wing and is responsible ...
and earned the nickname "the fixer."
Dan Pfeiffer called Messina "the most powerful person in Washington that you haven't heard of." Messina was integral to the passage on the Affordable Care Act and was widely credited with the effort to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell.
In January 2013, the Obama administration announced the launch of
Organizing for Action, an advocacy organization that would promote President Obama's policies, with Jim Messina as national chair. That same year, Messina became co-chair of
Priorities USA Action.
In various roles he has advised a number of international campaigns and candidates, including former UK Prime Minister
David Cameron, Spanish Prime Minister
Mariano Rajoy
Mariano Rajoy Brey (; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party lead ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
Matteo Renzi
Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...
, and UK Prime Minister
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...
.
Early life and education
Messina was born in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and raised in
Boise, Idaho
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ar ...
. He graduated from
Boise High School
Boise High School is a public secondary school in Boise, Idaho, one of five
traditional high schools within the city limits, four of which are in the Boise School District. A three-year comprehensive high school, Boise High is located on the outly ...
in 1988 and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
and journalism from the
University of Montana
The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...
in 1993. In 1993, as a college senior, Messina managed
Dan Kemmis's successful re-election bid for mayor of
Missoula, Montana
Missoula ( ; fla, label= Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork ...
.
Career
Prior to first Obama campaign
In 1995, Messina was hired by Democratic U.S. Senator
Max Baucus
Maxwell Sieben Baucus ( Enke; born December 11, 1941) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Montana from 1978 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a U.S. senator for over 35 years, making him the long ...
of Montana. They describe their relationship as father-son-like. In 2002, he ran Baucus's
2002 re-election campaign. Messina "refused to let Baucus attend any debate that didn't include
a third-party candidate whose skin had turned blue from drinking an anti-infection solution", which was a distraction to help take attention away from the more credible Republican candidate. Messina was purportedly responsible for creating an infamously homophobic television ad for Baucus.
In 2005, he re-united with Baucus and became his chief of staff. Messina was integral in devising the Democratic strategy that prevented the allowance of private accounts within
Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
.
Messina was credited by the New York Times Magazine as the brains behind the defeat of President Bush's plan.
Messina has also been involved with other political campaigns from
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
to New York, including serving as an advisor to Montana State Senator
Jon Tester
Raymond Jon Tester (born August 21, 1956) is an American farmer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Tester is the dean of Montana's congressi ...
's successful election in
2006.
In 1999, he became Chief of Staff to Democratic U.S. Congresswoman
Carolyn McCarthy of New York. He then became Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator
Byron Dorgan
Byron Leslie Dorgan (born May 14, 1942) is an American author, businessman and former politician who served as a United States Representative (1981–1992) and United States Senator (1992–2011) from North Dakota. He is member of the Democratic ...
of North Dakota, from 2002 to 2004. In 2004, he made $80,510 and in 2005 made $128,936.
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Messina was hired as National Chief of Staff for the Obama campaign in the 2008 general election. He was credited with leading the efforts to staff up for the general election and controlled a $750 million budget.
After Obama won, Messina was named Director of Personnel for the Obama-Biden Transition team, helping Obama pick his cabinet.
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2012
Messina was Obama's campaign manager during the 2012 Presidential Election. In January 2011, Messina left his job at the White House and began "a rolling series of personal seminars with the CEOs and senior executives of companies that included
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
,
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
,
Zynga
Zynga Inc. () is an American developer running social video game services. It was founded in April 2007, with headquarters in San Mateo, California. The company primarily focuses on mobile and social networking platforms. Zynga states its missio ...
,
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
,
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
,
Salesforce
Salesforce, Inc. is an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides customer relationship management (CRM) software and applications focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, a ...
, and
DreamWorks.
" His goal, he said, was to learn everything he could about "organizational growth, emerging technologies, marketing,
" to better serve the President in his role as campaign manager during the
2012 re-election campaign.
For his work, the American Political Consultant's association named him the International Strategist of the Year.
After second Obama campaign
In January 2013, Messina became head of
Organizing for Action (OFA), using the Obama For America database and other resources to support President Obama's legislative agenda in his second term. While OFA was formed in 2009 by the President-elect, it was reformed as a political-action non-profit group in January, 2013.
He founded The Messina Group, a full-service consulting firm with offices in Washington, DC, New York, San Francisco, and London.
In August 2013, Messina signed on as a consultant to the
British Conservative Party, helping them successfully fend off a challenge from the Labour Party in 2015. "Whereas British pollsters consistently missed that the Tories were moving into pole position, Messina's internal numbers showed for weeks they were on course to be the largest party.
"
While some were surprised by Messina's move to work with the Tories, ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'' pointed out that "this makes more sense when you consider that Mr Cameron's policies – such as support for
gay marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
and confronting
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
– would probably make him a centrist Democrat in the United States.
" The combination of "data-driven ground game, relentless messaging and sophisticated social media is Mr Messina's signature," and as stated in ''The Daily Telegraph'', is what Mr. Messina brought to the Cameron campaign, ultimately aiding in a stunning victory for the Conservatives. In a statement, Messina also added his personal admiration for
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
David Cameron.
In January 2016, Messina was hired by
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 ...
Matteo Renzi
Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...
as campaign's advisor for the
constitutional referendum in December. The campaign was unsuccessful and Renzi was forced to resign as Prime Minister in its wake. Messina received 400,000 euros for his advice.
In June 2016, Messina began working with Spanish Prime Minister
Mariano Rajoy
Mariano Rajoy Brey (; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party lead ...
,
using data and targeted social media that ultimately helped Rajoy win a bigger than expected victory in
that year's elections and take charge of a minority government in October of that year.
Messina worked with Prime Minister
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...
as a campaign strategist for the
2017 United Kingdom general election. Theresa May and the Conservatives suffered a very underwhelming performance, in which she successfully remained Prime Minister, however, did not manage to keep Conservatives in the majority.
For May, the election has been called a "disastrous gamble".
Personal life
Messina has
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
ancestry; in 2013 he received the
Machiavelli Award as the Italian American Democrat of the Year.
References
External links
Organizing for ActionJim Messinaat The Harry Walker Agency
*
*
*
Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messinaofficial White House site (archived)
Obama's CEO: Jim Messina Has a President to Sell Joshua Green, ''
Bloomberg Businessweek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
'', June 14, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Messina, Jim
1969 births
American campaign managers
American politicians of Italian descent
Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign
Living people
Obama administration personnel
University of Montana alumni
White House Deputy Chiefs of Staff
People from Denver
People from Boise, Idaho