AG Mark Herring Announces Senior Staff for Reelection Campaign

From AG Mark Herring’s reelection campaign:

HERRING ANNOUNCES SENIOR STAFF FOR RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Experienced Team to Lead Herring’s Re-Election Campaign 

Today, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring announced the senior leadership team who will lead his re-election campaign. Farah Melendez will take leave from her role as Political Director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) to serve as Campaign Manager. Adnan Mohamed will serve as both Deputy Campaign Manager and Political Director, Tommy Keefe will serve as Finance Director, Cassie Moreno will serve as Communications Director, and André Earls will serve as Press Secretary. 

“Our work to make Virginia more safe, more just, and more equitable is only just beginning, and our diverse and talented senior leadership team represents an investment in the future of the Commonwealth,” said Attorney General Mark Herring. “This is a team with deep Virginia connections and a wealth of experience who will help us share our record of progressive achievement and accomplishments with Virginians in every corner of the Commonwealth.”

“Mark Herring is the progressive champion who Virginia must re-elect as Attorney General,” said Campaign Manager Farah Melendez. “He has been a fearless champion for justice, equality, and opportunity. He has taken bold stands to protect and expand the rights of Virginians and set a new standard for what an Attorney General can do for the people he serves. We know that Donald Trump and the special interest, dark money forces that support him are making Virginia a priority, just like they did in 2017. I’m proud to be on Team Herring to re-elect Mark and keep building on the work of the past eight years. Mark has the record, support, and commitment needed to hold this seat and keep Virginia moving forward.” 

Farah Melendez, Campaign Manager, most recently served as Political Director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA.) In this role she managed a fourteen state, $15 million political program during the 2019 and 2020 cycles. She created and implemented DAGA’s first-ever comprehensive political program, which helped elect and re-elect Democratic Attorneys General in key states like Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. She built strong relationships between Democratic attorneys general and key constituencies and allies such as labor, pro-choice, environmental, progressive, and independent expenditure organizations. She has also served as DAGA’s National Campaign Director and Political Manager, campaign manager for a congressional race, and regional delegate director and field organizer for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. She is a first generation immigrant and a proud graduate of the University of Utah.

Adnan Mohamed, Deputy Campaign Manager and Political Director,  has extensive campaign experience both in Virginia and at the National level. In the 2020 presidential cycle, he worked on the campaigns of President Joe Biden, as Virginia Voter Activation Director, Mike Bloomberg, as Virginia Political Director, Beto O’Rourke, as National Political Director, and Seth Moulton, as Deputy National Political Director. In the 2017 Virginia gubernatorial cycle, Adnan served as Governor Ralph Northam’s Northern Virginia Political Director, and as Tom Perriello’s Deputy Political Director. Following the Governor’s race, Adnan served as Deputy Political Director for Governor Northam’s inaugural committee. He has also worked in the office of Congressman Don Beyer, on LuAnn Bennett’s 2016 campaign for Congress in Virginia’s 10th District, and Serve America PAC as a senior staffer during the 2018 cycle. He is a native of Houston, TX. and proud graduate of Texas A&M University (B.A.) and American University (M.A.)

Tommy Keefe, Finance Director, has served as director of Mark Herring’s One Commonwealth PAC since June 2018, leading a robust national and in-state fundraising operation that has given Attorney General Herring more than $1 million cash on hand as he enters his election year, the most ever for an attorney general candidate at this point in the cycle. Tommy also worked on the finance staff of the Democratic Attorneys General Association, as deputy finance director of Herring’s successful re-election campaign in 2017, and on numerous Virginia races including Dave Marsden’s successful campaign for Virginia Senate in 2015 and John Foust’s 2014 campaign for Congress in Virginia’s 10th District. He is a native of Sterling, Va. and a graduate of James Madison University and the Political Leaders Program at the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.

Cassie Moreno, Communications Director, joins the Herring campaign having most recently served as Press Secretary on Virginia Senator Mark Warner’s 2020 re-election campaign. Prior to joining the Warner campaign, Cassie served as Communications Director on Suraj Patel’s 2020 primary challenge in New York’s 12th District, a race which garnered national attention relating to vote-by-mail and election administration. The campaign’s communications strategy led to significant national headlines which subsequently contributed to proactive voter protection reforms in several states ahead of the 2020 Presidential Election. In the 2019 cycle, Cassie served as Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu’s Communications Director. She previously worked for Serve America PAC, Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, and former Massachusetts Governor Michael S. Dukakis, and is a graduate of Northeastern University. 

André Earls, Press Secretary, most recently served as Staff Assistant in the office of Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.). During the 2020 Presidential cycle, André worked on both the Kamala Harris and Michael Bloomberg campaigns as a Field Organizer and Press Assistant, respectively. André also served as a Digital Media and Public Relations Intern with the Washington Football Team, and is a graduate of Wiley College and Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.