Former 3rd District candidate to lead Biden’s Minnesota campaign

President Joe Biden’s campaign has started to beef up its operations team in Minnesota.

Monday, the campaign announced Ron Harris as its state director in Minnesota and Alana Petersen and Justin Buoen as senior advisors.

Harris, who used to be a chief resilience officer in Minneapolis, had been running to replace Dean Phillips in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District but suspended his campaign last month. He’s also served as chief of staff for the council president in Minneapolis and is an executive committee member of the Democratic National Committee.

Petersen has extensive political experience, advising Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Sen. Tina Smith’s campaigns, the Senate Caucus, the 2020 Biden campaign and other groups. She’s also been a deputy chief of staff for Smith and former Sen. Al Franken.

Buoen is Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s former national campaign manager, having worked on her 2006 and 2012 Senate campaigns and her 2020 presidential bid. He’s also worked on several other campaigns, including for Walz and former Gov. Mark Dayton.

Biden won Minnesota over former President Donald Trump by around 230,000 votes — 7% — in 2020. Trump’s campaign hasn’t yet announced any hires in Minnesota.