Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden’s presidential campaign on Monday announced new hires in Minnesota and Maine – two states that barely stayed in the Democratic column in 2016.
Ryan Doyle will be the Biden campaign’s state director in Minnesota. Mr. Doyle is a former staffer for Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential bid and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s 2018 campaign.
Misha Battiste, also a former Warren presidential campaign staffer, will be coalitions director.
Corey Day, a former executive director of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, will be a senior advisor. Mr. Day had previously served as a senior advisor for the Biden campaign’s Minnesota primary efforts.
For Maine, James Stretch will be Mr. Biden’s state director. Mr. Stretch served as a staffer for House Democrats’ campaign arm in 2018.
Spencer Thibodeau, a member of the Portland City Council, will be a senior advisor.
Hillary Clinton narrowly carried both states in 2016, though President Trump carried Maine’s second congressional district to garner one electoral college vote.
Mr. Biden has also beefed up staff recently in other battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Nevada.
Both sides are keeping an eye on potential opportunities to expand the map and potential danger spots where they might need to play extra defense.
But the six key states shaping up to be the most crucial terrain appear to be Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina, all of which the president carried narrowly in 2016.
