Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who launched her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in February, named five new staffers and five senior advisers for her campaign Monday, Politico reported.
Sen. Klobuchar has tried to brand herself as a no-nonsense pragmatist who can win in parts of the country where support for President Donald Trump is strong, but has opposed some ideas that have gained traction in the party's progressive wing, such as a proposal for four-year free college.
However, she has garnered only low single-digit support in the crowded Democratic field in national and early state polling in the two months since she started her campaign.
As she tries to intensify her campaign, her new hires include Pete Giangreco as a senior adviser and Fred Yang as a research adviser, according to Politico. Giangreco helped her win her first Senate race in 2006, and then he worked on President Barack Obama's campaigns in both 2008 and 2012. Yang has vast experience as a Democratic pollster on numerous House and Senate races.
She has also brought on board three media advisers – Roy Temple, Jay Howser, and Andi Johnson – who are all from GPS Impact consulting firm and who have worked on a range of congressional and gubernatorial races.
The staff hires include Tim Hogan as communications director; Lucinda Ware as national political director, Anjan Mukherjee as research director; and Mike McLaughlin as national field director.