Mainer to serve as Bernie Sanders’ New Hampshire primary director

Maheu at a Sanders rally in Portland | Jeff Kirlin/Thing of the Moment photo, courtesy of the campaign

Maheu (with headset) at a Sanders rally in Portland | Jeff Kirlin/Thing of the Moment photo, courtesy of the campaign

Brandon Maheu, a longtime political operative living in Belfast, Maine, announced on social media this morning that he will soon be working as New Hampshire Primary Director for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign for the Democratic nomination for president.

“Joining Sen. Sanders’ campaign in New Hampshire in this capacity is a remarkable opportunity,” said Maheu by email. “I am eager to get to work helping to build an organization that leads to a victory for him in the first-in-the-nation primary.”

Maheu has a history in Democratic politics, having served previously as field director for the Maine Democratic Party and the Maine House Democratic Campaign Committee and as campaign manager for Pat McGowan’s unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2010.

Maheu burned some bridges with some Democrats during the 2014 cycle, however, when he took a job as field director for the campaign of independent candidate Eliot Cutler. Despite his hiring initially being touted by the Cutler campaign as a sign of their support among Democrats and their commitment to running a strong ground game, Maheu left his position eight months before the election for reasons that weren’t made public.

Maheu will be overseeing field, data and get-out-the-vote efforts and taking on other miscellaneous duties for Sanders in the Granite State. He had been working for the campaign in a volunteer capacity to this point, including organizing a record-breaking rally in Portland in July.

Aggregated polling for New Hampshire’s critical, first-in-the-nation primary shows Sanders having made big gains over the last few months and puts him in a virtual tie with the presumed frontrunner, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Mike Tipping

About Mike Tipping

Mike is Maine's longest-writing political blogger and explores state politics and policy with a focus on analysis and explanation. He works at the Maine People's Alliance and Maine People's Resource Center.