I mentioned the other day that Bob Graham’s departure from the presidential race stood to help different candidates in different ways. What I failed to realize at the time was that a whole lot of people who had been working for Graham suddenly need a job — and Wesley Clark just happens to be hiring.
Jamal Simmons, the top Graham staffer who resigned last week, was snatched up by the Clark campaign on Monday. Simmons told reporters in New Hampshire that he “probably won’t be the last” member of Graham’s former campaign staff to make the transition to Clark’s team.
Indeed, Graham’s early efforts included building sizable campaign structures in Iowa and New Hampshire. What a coincidence — Clark just so happens to be desperately playing catch-up with candidates who’ve been traveling to the two states for over a year and is looking for campaign staffers.
It’s not too much of a stretch to imagine that Graham supporters could comfortably make the transition to supporting Gen. Clark. I imagine those who gravitated to Graham did so because they saw a serious and intelligent Southerner, who was critical of the war in Iraq from the beginning, and who had experience on national security issues. Well, guess who else meets that description?
Thomas Beaumont, the Des Moines Register’s influential political columnist, said yesterday that Clark “could be the biggest beneficiary” in Iowa as a result of Graham’s exit.
Shelia McGuire Riggs, Graham’s Iowa campaign chairwoman, said the Florida Senator had hired a “top-notch and very experienced” staff that Clark could easily adopt. In all, Graham leaves behind 13 Iowa offices and an in-state staff of about 50.
In New Hampshire, Graham leaves behind about 24 campaign staffers. As PoliticsNH.com reported this week, “About two dozen New Hampshire staffers for Graham now find themselves looking for work precisely at a time when Wesley Clark, who just entered the race three weeks ago, appears to be looking to hire people to do the same jobs.”
Though Clark is getting a late start in New Hampshire, there are indications that he’s already making headway. State Democratic Party Chairwoman Kathy Sullivan, for example, said this week that Clark has “kind of stopped the Dean momentum” in the Granite State.
“There were signs of Dean pulling away here,” Sullivan said. She added that Clark “had something to do with” slowing Dean down.