Democratic former Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia has hired someone to manage his potential campaign in Iowa should he decide to join the presidential race.
Webb,
reports the Des Moines Register, brought in Rania Batrice to run his operations in Iowa ahead of the state's presidential caucuses early next year.
"I will be managing Iowa operations as well as advising Senator Webb in other areas as he continues exploring answering the call again and throwing his hat in the ring," Batrice told the Register.
Webb told the Register that Batrice will serve as a senior political adviser on his staff.
"Glad to report that Rania Batrice is joining our team as senior political adviser, including coordinating Iowa," Webb said.
Webb has been
ramping up his preparations for a potential White House run, including launching a new website last week while saying he is still "looking at this issue" of running.
He is scheduled to visit Iowa next month, along with South Carolina and New Hampshire in the coming months.
"In terms of the visits, we're a little bit behind, but in terms of putting together the structure that will allow us to make a decision, we're right where I want to be," Webb said last week.
A former Marine, Webb served one tour in Vietnam before retiring from the military in 1972. He later entered politics, serving as the assistant secretary of defense for Reserve Affairs under President Ronald Reagan from 1984-1987 and then served as secretary of the Navy from 1987-1988.
From 2007-2013, Webb represented Virginia in the U.S. Senate.
Webb faces an uphill challenge against Hillary Clinton, who is expected to run from the left. A scandal centered on her use of a
private email address and server during her time as secretary of state, however, has threatened to derail her planned campaign before it officially begins.
Batrice, according to her Linkedin page, managed U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack's , D-Iowa, re-election campaign in 2008. She also worked on South Carolina Democratic Sen. John Edwards' Iowa and South Carolina campaigns.
More recently, Batrice served as the communications director for the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party and the campaign manager for George B. Sinner, a North Dakota state senator.
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