Biden for President Announces Key Staff Hires in Michigan
Today, Biden for President announced key staff hires in Michigan – including Michigan natives and former staff for Biden for President National Co-Chair Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence, the Obama-Biden campaigns, and state and local officials.
“Michiganders have seen who Donald Trump is, now they're ready to show the nation who they are,” said Biden for President Battleground States Director Jenn Ridder. “Just as Vice President Biden dominated every county in Michigan on March 10, our campaign has hired a battle-tested team with deep ties across the state that will help deliver victory in November.”
Eric Hyers, State Director
Eric has a record of electing Democrats in hard-fought races and tough environments. In 2019, he managed Andy Beshear’s winning campaign for governor of Kentucky, defeating Republican incumbent and Trump ally Matt Bevin. In 2016, he led Montana Governor Steve Bullock to re-election on the same night that Donald Trump won Montana by 20 points. He also managed the winning gubernatorial campaign of Gina Raimondo in Rhode Island in 2014, as well as the successful 2010 and 2012 congressional campaigns of Rep. David Cicilline (RI-01).
Mariah Hill, Deputy State Director
Mariah joined the Biden campaign in the primary as the South Carolina Deputy State Director and then served as the Western States Lead. Prior to joining the campaign, Mariah was the manager for Joe Cunningham’s upset victory in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District in 2018. In 2016, she worked for Jason Kander’s U.S. Senate campaign in Missouri and for Martin O’Malley’s presidential campaign in New Hampshire. Mariah is a Michigan native and graduate of Albion College.
Justin Johnson, Deputy State Director
Justin Johnson has spent the last 15 years as a political and labor organizer having spent his tenure working at the staff level as well as management. From the state level to the local level, Justin has amassed relationships that have come as a result of work in the trenches engaging grassroots and getting grass tops to coalesce around coming goals. Work that has resulted in getting Democratic candidates elected up and down the ticket and fighting for the rights of workers across Michigan.
Eddie McDonald, Senior Advisor
Eddie McDonald, president of EFM & Associates, is a lifelong public servant and successful political consultant at the local, county, state, and national level. During his 25 years of public service, he served under former Congressman Bob Carr, former Wayne County Executives Edward McNamara and Robert Ficano and as director of executive affairs for the mayor’s office and as a liaison to the Detroit City Council. He is a proven winner of campaigns large and small, having worked or led more than 3 dozen efforts, including most recently the 2018 Michigan Democratic Coordinated Campaign, where the party returned the governorship, the Secretary of State’s office, the Michigan attorney general’s office as well as much of the state education board seats to Democratic control. His other work includes, but is not limited to: All of Jennifer M. Granholm’s bids, where she was elected three times for statewide offices as governor and attorney general, respectively; leading GOTV efforts for former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and for 3 Detroit Mayors; and earning victories for several county or statewide ballot proposals, including the 2012 and 2020 passage of millage's to support the Detroit Institute of Arts. McDonald, a 4-time delegate to the Democratic National Convention, currently serves as the director of African American Outreach for the Michigan Democratic Party.
Ed Duggan, Political Director
Ed Duggan has extensive experience working with community and business leaders in the state of Michigan. He currently serves as Senior Advisor in the Michigan Department of Labor and previously worked as Special Advisor to Governor Whitmer. Duggan has over a decade of experience working on political campaigns and in 2018, he served as Detroit Chair for the Michigan Coordinated Campaign. Previously, he worked at the Downtown Detroit Partnership as the Chief Recruitment Officer for Summer Youth Employment overseeing Detroit’s summer jobs program which placed 8,000 young people in job experiences. He is a member of the Michigan State Bar and received his JD from University of Detroit Mercy and Bachelor’s Degree from Michigan State University.
Rose Dady, Coalitions Director
Rose Dady is one of the most trusted and effective grassroots/political organizers in Detroit and southeast Michigan. She currently serves as District Director for Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence in Michigan’s 14th District. Known for her knowledge of the community, Rose has a background in project management, specializing in community change and creating actionable engagement plans for entities such as the AFL-CIO, Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Detroit Pistons, the State of Michigan and Wayne County. Rose has served as an outreach and policy advisor in the city of Detroit, under multiple mayors, labor unions, and as Chief of Staff and Legislative Director in the Michigan State House of Representatives.
