U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and the Conservative Party have hired Barack Obama’s former deputy chief of staff, Jim Messina to help their chances of a successful reelection bid and a bigger majority.
Bloomberg reports that this will see him reunite with some other operatives who, along with Messina, helped on David Cameron’s campaign, pushing Britain to remain in the European Union. May, conversely, is looking for “a fresh mandate for her vision of Brexit,” according to someone working with the campaign.
During that 2015 campaign for Cameron, Messina is credited with playing a critical role by determining which voters might be swayed over to the Conservative side, with messages crafted specifically for them in order to help make that happen.
In addition to working as Obama’s deputy chief of staff, he served as campaign manager for his 2012 reelection bid. He then went on to co-chair the super-PAC Priorities USA Action while helping Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
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Last year, he advised Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, as he took charge of the minority government, the conservative and Christian democratic People’s Party.
May began her political career opposing LGBTQ rights, but has evolved and moderated over the years, coming around on issues like same-sex marriage. However, there remain questions as to whether her government has done enough on issues like the dangerous practice of conversion therapy, as well as protections for LGBTQ asylum seekers.