Cedric Richmond to join Biden campaign as co-chair

Cedric Richmond, a former Democratic congressman from Louisiana who served as a senior adviser at the White House under President Biden, has been selected as campaign co-chair for Biden’s reelection bid.

Richmond left his role as director of the White House Office of Public Engagement in May to be a senior adviser for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and was expected to join the campaign. His appointment adds new talent to the campaign’s leadership team.

The hire comes days after the Biden campaign announced it raised $72 million in the second quarter of fundraising, which is more than double what former President Trump raised. Trump currently holds a large lead in national polls for the GOP nomination.

The Biden campaign also announced that Rufus Gifford will serve as its finance chair and Chris Korge will serve as finance chair of the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee for Biden’s campaign, the DNC and state Democratic parties.

Gifford, a former ambassador to Denmark, most recently was chief of protocol for the U.S. with the rank of ambassador at the State Department. Korge is the current national finance chairman for the DNC and also served as national finance chairman for Hillary Clinton’s presidential run in 2016.

Richmond served in Congress from 2011 to 2021, chaired the Congressional Black Caucus from 2017 to 2019, and was considered a close adviser to the president at the White House.

Previous Biden campaign team hires included former DNC national press secretary Michael Tyler as communications director as well as Rob Flaherty, Biden’s former digital director, and T.J. Ducklo, a former White House aide.

Biden officially announced his reelection bid in April. Early hires included campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez and spokesman Kevin Munoz, the former assistant press secretary at the White House.