Hillary Clinton 2016 Campaign Staff: Amanda Renteria Officially Becomes National Political Director for Clinton Campaign
With Hillary Clinton officially on the presidential campaign trail, Amanda Renteria has been tapped as Clinton's national political director.
As Latin Post reported in March, Renteria was widely rumored to be named Clinton's national political director, but nothing was confirmed. Following Clinton's announcement on April 12, Renteria's Twitter page was updated to feature a new cover photo with a statement by Clinton. Renteria's Twitter biography also noted she is the current national political director for "#Hillary2016."
Renteria has already made her presence known for the Clinton campaign, notably an appearance on MSNBC's "PoliticsNation." Renteria spoke about Clinton's mission on the campaign trail -- to get to know Americans -- and responded to attacks stating that the former secretary of state is the "candidate from yesterday," as stated by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a Republican presidential candidate.
"She's talking about the future," said Renteria. "When you do look at yesterday, you look at all the fights she's been waging long before this campaign, whether it was helping kids make sure they got education...when she's been fighting for health care for kids and for moms and for women, that's who she is and what we're working on now, what she's working on and talking about now is the future."
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Renteria continued, "When I hear something like that, you say, 'What is she talking about? What is she doing? And by the way what has she done to prove that she's always been there fighting for people?' I look forward to and I know she looks forward to talking a lot more about what the future holds with everyday people right on the ground."
Renteria is a Harvard and Stanford graduate. She has had a history in election campaigns. She recently lost an election against Republican Rep. David Valadao for California's 21st Congressional District, a district where approximately three in four residents are Latino.
Renteria was also the first Latina chief of staff for a congressional lawmaker, working with U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan.
Renteria's addition comes as Clinton added Jose Villarreal as the "Hillary for America" campaign's treasurer. Villarreal, a Mexican-American lawyer, has worked with the Clintons, previously as the deputy campaign manager for President Bill Clinton during his first run for the White House in 1992 and then senior advisor for the former first lady during the 2008 presidential campaign.
In a poll conducted by Latino Decisions, the Latino electorate gave Clinton a high favorability rating, but the numbers change on immigration.
"We found that while people generally have pretty high favorability for her, there is a soft spot that I think exist for almost any candidate, but I think it's interesting that it holds for her, too," said Latino Decisions' Sylvia Manzano, referring to immigration, during an interview with Latin Post on the 2016 presidential election and the Latino vote.
The Latino Decisions poll found Latinos' support for Clinton will drop by 55 percent if she fails to support Obama's immigration executive actions. Manzano noted that if Clinton--a heavy favorite in the presidential race--can lose Latino voters on immigration, then all potential presidential candidates need to pay attention to that issue.
While Clinton's campaign headquarters will be based in Brooklyn, N.Y., Renteria will travel most of the time with Clinton.
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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.
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