DES MOINES, IA - Rep. Bruce Braley announced today that Iowa native Sarah Benzing will return to Iowa to serve as the campaign manager for his 2014 Senate campaign.
Benzing, who managed Braley's first campaign for Congress in 2006 and served as his first chief of staff from 2007 until 2009, worked as US Senator Sherrod Brown's (D-OH) campaign manager in 2012. More recently, she managed Sen. Ed Markey's successful June 2013 special election campaign for US Senate in Massachusetts.
Braley said, "Sarah Benzing is the best campaign manager in the country, period. I'm so proud to have her return to lead my campaign team. There's no other campaign manager in the country with her deep Iowa roots and knowledge. She's proven her ability to build a strong grassroots organization, and there's no one better prepared to help me introduce myself to more Iowans and discuss my efforts to be an Iowa problem solver."
Benzing said, "I couldn't be more excited to come home to Iowa and manage Bruce's campaign for Senate. I'm looking forward to getting to work to make an already strong grassroots organization even stronger, and to help share with more Iowans Bruce's message of bipartisan problem solving to create jobs, expand the middle class, and make America strong."
Sarah Benzing, a native of Neola, Iowa, has been involved in Iowa Democratic politics since she was 5 years old, when she volunteered on Tom Harkin's 1982 US House re-election campaign. Benzing is a graduate of Tri-Center High School in Pottawattamie County, where she served as president of her local 4-H club, and the University of Northern Iowa.
Her professional experience in Iowa includes working as a Field Organizer for Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000, Canvass Director for the 2002 Iowa Coordinated Campaign, Campaign Manager for Braley's successful first bid for Congress in 2006, and serving as Braley's Congressional Chief of Staff from 2007 until 2009.
After leaving Braley's office, Benzing managed the successful re-election campaigns of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in 2010 and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in 2012. Benzing managed the successful special election campaign of Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) earlier this year.
Benzing will start with Braley for Iowa effective September 3.
Bruce Braley was born in Grinnell and grew up in nearby Brooklyn, Iowa. His father, a Marine, fought on Iwo Jima in World War II; his mother was a teacher. Braley worked his way through college and law school building roads and bridges with the Poweshiek County Roads Department, waiting tables, and tending bar. He worked as an attorney for 23 years before being elected to Congress. Braley has become known for his work on behalf of veterans, his advocacy for the middle class, and his bipartisan effectiveness. Braley lives in Waterloo with his wife, Carolyn. They have three children: Lisa, David, and Paul.
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