A veteran national political operative who helped elect U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill to Congress two years ago will serve as campaign manager for Gov. Phil Murphy’s re-election bid next year.
Mollie Binotto will help the Democratic governor in his bid for a second term, the campaign announced Monday.
Binotto, 35, who was born in Elizabeth but raised mostly in Pittsburgh, is currently the western federal and gubernatorial director at EMILY’s List, a group that works to elect pro-choice women to office across the country.
Murphy called Bionotto “a veteran of local, state, and national campaigns, with two cycles of New Jersey political experience, and I know she brings the right mix of experience, skills, and vision to the role.”
“Over the past three years, we’ve worked hard to build a stronger and fairer New Jersey and move our state forward,” the governor added in a statement. “I know Mollie has the determination and drive to lead a successful reelection effort and help (Lt. Gov.) Sheila (Oliver) and I continue our important work into a second term.”
Binotto said Murphy and Oliver have “kept their promise of building a stronger and fairer New Jersey that works for every family.”
“I look forward to helping them continue their important work in a second term by building a diverse, inclusive, and victorious campaign that reaches out to voters all across New Jersey,” she added.
Binotto helped Sherrill flip New Jersey’s 11th congressional district from blue to red during the 2018 midterm elections after 33 years of Republican rule. It one of four U.S. House seats in the state that Democrats flipped that year.
“I think that was a brilliant move on his part,” Sherrill told NJ Advance Media about Murphy hiring Binotto. “She is incredibly talented. She’s one of the best political minds in the country. ... Not only is she just incredibly talented, but she also gets New Jersey.”
Before that, Binotto — a 2007 graduate of Washington College in Maryland — was the coordinated campaign director for Iowa’s Democratic Party and ran numerous local and state campaigns in Maryland, Virginia, and Alaska. She was a field director in Montana for President Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign in 2008.
She was also campaign manager for Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s re-election in 2013.
Zimmer called Binotto a “perfect pick.”
“She was a terrific campaign manager for me,” Zimmer told NJ Advance Media. “She’s so dedicated, honest, hardworking, smart. New Jersey’s a tough place. But she stays calm, focused.”
Murphy, an avowed progressive Democrat, announced in October he’s running for re-election with Oliver once again on his ticket.
The governor has seen his poll numbers jump in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s unclear if he will have a challenger in the Democratic primary, but he is expected to win the party’s nomination.
Three candidates have so far entered the race for the Republican nod: former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, businessman Hirsh Singh, and former state Republican Party Chairman Doug Steinhardt.
NJ Globe was the first to report Murphy’s pick.
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.