DCCC promotes Jesse Ferguson to IE director

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has named Jesse Ferguson, its current deputy executive director, to lead the committee’s independent expenditure arm.

Ferguson started with the DCCC in late 2010 and has previously served as communications director and national press secretary for the committee. He is returning to the committee full-time after a hiatus — that never saw him truly check out of the campaign cycle — spent battling, and defeating, cancer.

{mosads}The position puts Ferguson in charge of a substantial media budget, with the DCCC entering the election year with $29.3 million cash on hand and no debt. The committee hasn’t aired many ads yet this cycle, but the media wars are likely to heat up in the coming months.

DCCC Chairman Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) called Ferguson “relentless” in a statement announcing the move,

“Jesse Ferguson has a relentless approach to strategizing and winning tough campaigns making him an excellent leader of the IE team,” he said.  “Jesse has an unmatched understanding of the 2014 battlefield and the experience to elect problem solving Democrats to Congress.”

Democrats need to pick up 17 seats to regain the majority in the House, a difficult task during any election but a particularly tough get during a midterm cycle, when the party in the White House typically loses seats.

The DCCC recently promoted Emily Bittner to head up communications efforts and hired Josh Schwerin, an alumnus of the Terry McAuliffe campaign, as national press secretary.