Musical chairs comes for Republican Party ahead of 2020
President Trump’s reelection effort has a new leader in Minnesota who comes from the top ranks of the state Republican Party.
Kevin Poindexter, who resigned last week as state party executive director, will be the state director of the Trump 2020 campaign. Trump insists he’ll put the reliably blue Minnesota in play next year as he aims to be the first Republican in almost 50 years to notch a presidential race win here.
Poindexter takes over for Tim Lagerman, who resigned as Trump’s Minnesota director in September to move back to Pennsylvania, according to Minnesota Republican Party Chair Jennifer Carnahan. Lagerman came to Minnesota in June.
Poindexter has been the day-to-day manager at the state Republican Party for 19 months. He has held other Republican jobs in Minnesota and Iowa since 2015.
“He knows the players. He knows the people. He knows how to run the ground game. He’s been a trusted partner of the state party,” Carnahan said of Poindexter. “He and I have a great relationship and will continue to work together, just in a slightly different capacity.”
Trump and the state GOP expect to have as many as 100 paid staff members ahead of next year’s election and more field offices than prior elections.
Filling in for Poindexter as the state party executive director is Becky Alery, who had been communications director. She previously worked for Reps. Tom Emmer and the 2018 campaign of Rep. Jason Lewis.
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