MAINE, USA — The Joe Biden campaign’s team in Maine is growing—on Wednesday three key senior staffers were added to the Maine team in a second wave of hires.
The announcement came a day after former Vice President and presumptive Democratic nominee for president Joe Biden made his historic running mate pick in California Sen. Kamala Harris. In the 24 hours following the announcement, the Biden campaign raised $26 million, more than doubling its previous one-day fundraising record.
The campaign staff in Maine is looking to keep up that momentum, announcing three senior staff hires.
A Maine Biden campaign staffer said, “our team is really growing in Maine, and we are off to the races to fight Trump and his agenda.”
BJ McCollister, who served as Maine Senate President Troy Jackson’s Chief of Staff, has been named the deputy state director. During his time with Jackson, McCollister worked with Democrats in the Maine Legislature to pass a first-in-the-nation Paid Time Off policy, equal pay for equal work legislation, and sweeping prescription drug and health care reform.
Paige Nygaard, who was born and raised in Bath, has been named coalitions director for the Biden campaign in Maine. The Biden campaign describes Nygaard as a lifelong advocate for climate justice, health care access, and a fair tax system.
Former deputy press secretary for Tom Steyer, Victoria Vinall has been named the Biden campaign’s Maine press secretary. She formerly served as the Pennsylvania media manager for NextGen America’s youth vote program, where she helped re-elect Tom Wolf as Governor of Pennsylvania and Democrats across the state during the 2018 midterm elections.
McCollister, Nygaard, and Vinall join Portland City Councilor Spencer Thibodeau on the Maine team. Thibodeau was named senior advisor for the campaign in June in Biden’s first wave of staffing hires for the state. James Stretch, who has more than a decade of campaign experience, is the campaign’s state director for Maine.
