Biden campaign looks to regroup after "we took our lumps" in Iowa
Joe Biden's campaign is elevating a longtime senior adviser to a higher position after the former vice president's disastrous fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, sources told CBS News on Friday. With 100% of Iowa precincts reporting results, Bernie Sanders had an advantage in the "popular vote" final choice and Pete Buttigieg has a slight advantage in state delegate equivalents.
According to three sources with knowledge of the shakeup, veteran Democratic strategist Anita Dunn, who was a key campaign adviser during Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and was acting communications director during the first year of this presidency, will now have top billing when it comes to decision-making going forward.
Dunn is expected to join the campaign full time, according to one source, after previously splitting her time at a Washington communications firm. She already is a fixture on the campaign trail, and one source said she is expected to travel more with Biden.
Her official title is not immediately clear, but she is expected to have equal input to current campaign manager Greg Schultz and senior adviser Steve Riccheti, the former chief of staff to Biden in the Vice President's office.
On a call with reporters, a senior campaign official would not answer questions about Dunn's new role. "The person in charge of the campaign is Joe Biden," one senior Biden official said.
Campaigning in New Hampshire earlier this week, Biden called his Iowa finish a "gut punch."
A senior campaign official stressed that while "we took our lumps in Iowa," Democrats can expect to see a "very forceful" contrast between Biden and his top rivals.
Biden's team said they plan to be "competitive" in New Hampshire. He spent some time away from the crucial first-in-the-nation primary state earlier this week, but his campaign said he was at home in Delaware on Thursday for debate preparation.
The campaign also said this week was its best fundraising week since the campaign launch. Asked again if the campaign is worried about running out of cash, a senior official said plainly "we are not running out of money."
But an unaffiliated pro-Joe Biden super PAC, "Unite the Country," poured $823,373.59 into New Hampshire ads on Thursday, according to Federal Election Commission data.