Seasoned Democratic strategist tapped to boost Biden’s 2024 polling effort

Joe Biden has tapped a top operative to oversee his number cruncher operation for the upcoming election.

The president is turning to Mindy Myers — an experienced Democratic strategist who just helped one of the president’s former aides win a crowded primary — to helm his 2024 campaign's polling team.

Myers, who worked as a consultant for moderate Democrat Gabe Amo during his successful run for the party’s nomination in a Rhode Island House district, will serve as Biden's senior adviser of opinion research.

The hiring, which the Biden campaign shared exclusively with POLITICO, is the latest sign that the reelection effort is ramping up after a relatively slow start. In recent weeks, the Biden team has officially opened its headquarters, launched a historically early $25 million ad campaign, and brought on other new employees.

Myers was previously chief of staff to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and managed her successful 2012 Senate run. Myers later became the first woman to serve as the executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, where she worked during the 2018 cycle. In 2020, she advised then-Sen. Kamala Harris during the vice presidential selection process.

While Myers also worked alongside Mike Donilon, a longtime top adviser to Biden, in managing Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s victorious 2006 Senate bid, her hiring does represent an infusion of new blood for the Biden operation. During the president’s 2020 bid, he relied heavily on his longtime pollster John Anzalone. But as the reelect started to come into focus, it was not clear if the president would stick with his initial crew. Anzalone’s firm has remained on the Democratic National Committee’s payroll into 2023 and is expected to contribute to the reelection effort, according to a person familiar with the operation.

Myers will oversee a team of pollsters for Biden, including those focused specifically on the youth vote, Latino voters and Black voters, a campaign aide said. Biden has struggled recently to generate excitement among some young people and voters of color.

Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager, said Myers “brings valuable expertise and experience that will be essential to our efforts to reach deeper into communities across the country.”

Myers will take on the job during a time of relative uncertainty for the polling industry. Polls underestimated former President Donald Trump’s support in 2016 and appeared to overstate Biden’s margins in key swing states in 2020. In recent months, they have shown Biden facing a number of headwinds, including expected close races in those same top battleground states.

In an interview, Myers said her job is “about figuring out how to translate [Biden’s] very popular record of accomplishments and agenda and reach voters all across the country” who will decide the election. She said her general approach to campaigns is “ignore the noise and stay focused on your guiding principles,” something she said she learned in part while working with Donilon.

One of the party’s top leaders applauded Biden’s decision to hire Myers.

“Mindy’s a battled-tested strategist whose deep knowledge of Democratic politics and ability to adroitly analyze data will help President Biden win in 2024 and ensure Democrats continue delivering meaningful progress for American families,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

Myers advised Amo, a former Biden White House aide, in his special House primary to replace Democratic Rep. David Cicilline, who stepped down earlier this year. Amo, who touted his close ties and experience working for the president, beat out nearly a dozen other Democrats, including a progressive backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).