Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio has hired an experienced political operative in Iowa as he considers a run for president.
Margaret Jarosz, who in 2016 worked as a regional field director for Bernie Sanders in the first caucus state, will serve initially as a senior trip adviser, with Brown planning his first visit to Iowa in the coming weeks.
Her addition is a sign that Brown views Iowa as important to any White House bid. His Senate chief of staff, Sarah Benzing, also has considerable experience in the state and is viewed by many as his campaign manager-in-waiting.
Jarosz recently ranked among the Des Moines Register’s “50 Most Wanted Democrats” for the 2020 caucuses. In 2018, she managed an unsuccessful primary campaign for Pete D’Alessandro, another former Sanders aide, and later was a deputy campaign manager for unsuccessful gubernatorial hopeful Fred Hubbell.
A spokesperson for America Works, the Brown political action committee that is paying for his upcoming “Dignity of Work Tour” of early caucus and primary states, confirmed Jarosz’s hire.
Brown announced this week that the tour will start Jan. 30 in Cleveland, where he lives, before continuing to Iowa the next day. He also committed to visiting New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina; dates for those stops have yet to be determined.