Sen. and presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) has named her national communications team as she tries to make her way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, including a trio of media advisers bringing experience from political consultants at GPS Media.
Named communications director was Tim Hogan, a former Klobuchar intern who had gone on to be press secretary and director of campaign communications for Progressive advocacy group The Hub Project. Hogan was a spokesman for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and handled press in Nevada, Arizona and Kentucky during the Primary. His resume also includes communications director for Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.
Lucinda Ware, formerly a partner at media firm SWAY, which produces TV, radio and digital ads, to be her national political director. She was also outreach director for South Bend, Ind., mayor and now presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg's campaign for DNC chair and political director for the successful senate campaign of Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
Media adviser Roy Temple is co-founder of GPS Impact, a Midwest based strategic communications firm specializing in progressive candidates, and a veteran public affairs pro with experience in at least one discipline Klobuchar hopes she will never need: crisis communications for political "scandals."
But Temple has plenty of the kind of experience necessary for preparing a run in a crowded field. He has done debate prep for, among others, Klobuchar's former fellow Democratic senator, Al Franken. Temple is former chair of the Missouri Democratic Party, where he provided digital advice and strategy for Gov. Mel Carnahan and his wife, Sen. Jean Carnahan, who held her husband's senate seat after he died in a plane crash in 2000 after being elected to the seat.
Media advisor Jay Howser has been a partner at GPS Media, where he produced campaign ads. Before that, he was an SVP at political media consulting firm Shorr Johnson Magnus, where his experience in getting Democrats elected in tough races should now come in handy. His experience includes managing campaigns for former Senator and Motion Picture Association of America president Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. He also worked for Vice President Al Gore and Sens. Bob Graham (Fla.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.) and another of Klobchar's fellow Minnesotans, Sen. Paul Wellstone who, coincidentally, was also killed in a plane crash (in 2002).
Media adviser Andi Johnson, also a partner at GPS Media, was also a partner at Shorr Johnson Magnus, where she handled media strategy for a stable of successful Democratic legislators, including Sen. Bob Case, Dick Durbin, and Patrick Leahy. She also brings experience with senator-turned-presidential candidate-turned President, Barack Obama.
