Each Friday, we highlight a presidential candidate’s key campaign staffer.

Nina Smith is a Democratic staffer with experience in political communications. Wilson received a bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University and a master’s degree from the George Washington University’s School of Political Management.

Previous campaign work:

• 2010 Martin O’Malley gubernatorial campaign, political and communications coordinator

Other experience:

• 2016-present: Megaphone Strategies, managing partner, co-owner, and director of media relations
• 2016: Young Invincibles, communications director
• 2014-2016: U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, press secretary
• 2013-2014: Office of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Md.), press secretary
• 2013: TheRoot.com, publicist
• 2012-2013: U.S. Small Business Administration, deputy press secretary
• 2011-2012: Prince George’s County Office of the County Executive, community liaison for strategic partnerships
• 2007-2011: Office of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Md.)
  • 2009-2011: Public relations liaison
  • 2007-2009: Senior media events coordinator
• 2005-2007: Maryland Democratic Party, special assistant to the chairman and youth outreach coordinator

What she says about Buttigieg:

“I feel like Pete really gets it, and really understands the challenges women face, whether it’s pay, taking special consideration for our healthcare, and then finally just our safety. These are issues that need to be taken seriously, and it’s very clear in the policy we’re introducing and putting out there that we are taking them seriously.”

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Notable Quote of the Day

“Whether it’s 10 percent, 12 percent or 15 percent, I suspect the probability our model spits out for a contested convention will strike some of you as high and others of you as low.

On the one hand, a contested convention has historically been a sucker’s bet. Pundits and reporters love to speculate about the possibility. But out of 18 competitive nomination processes since 1972, none has resulted in what’s uniformly regarded as a contested convention, although some arguably were. (I think the 1976 Republican race probably meets the definition of a nomination whose outcome was uncertain when the convention began. Even that was 44 years ago, however.)

On the other hand, a number of other nominations — including the 2008 Democratic race — have come fairly close to resulting in contested conventions. The 2016 Republican convention could also plausibly have been contested if Republicans had used Democrats’ rules. (Trump got a big boost from winner-take-all and winner-take-most states, which Democratic rules do not allow for).”

– Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight

Democrats

• Michael Bennet will campaign in New Hampshire on Sunday with stops in Concord, Nashua, Chester, and Manchester.
• Joe Biden released an ad focused on electability against Trump on Friday. He will campaign in Iowa over the weekend, including attending a block party co-hosted by the Des Moines NAACP.
• Michael Bloomberg started airing “Pentagon,” an ad focused on Trump’s critical comments about U.S. military leaders. He opened his Minnesota state headquarters in Minneapolis on Thursday.
• Pete Buttigieg will hold town halls across Iowa on Saturday with stops planned in Fort Dodge, Storm Lake, and Carroll. A town hall in Des Moines will be broadcast by Fox News on Sunday. VoteVets PAC began airing television ads to support Buttigieg in New Hampshire.
• John Delaney will speak at an economic forum in New Hampshire on Friday.
• Tulsi Gabbard is holding town halls in New Hampshire over the weekend with stops in Andover, Moultonborough, and Plymouth.
• Amy Klobuchar will campaign in Iowa over the weekend with stops in Bettendorf, Waterloo, Ames, and Des Moines.
• Bernie Sanders will hold campaign events with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and Ames over the weekend. He is airing a new television ad called “Transform This Country.”
• Tom Steyer hired attorney Omar El-Halwagi as his Texas state director. He will campaign in California on Friday and Nevada over the weekend.
• Elizabeth Warren will hold town halls across Iowa over the weekend. Her itinerary includes Burlington, Muscatine, and Davenport.
• Andrew Yang continues his bus tour of Iowa with stops planned in southern and western Iowa this weekend. Former candidate Marianne Williamson will support Yang at an event in Fairfield but said she had not yet endorsed a candidate.

Republicans

• NBC News profield Donald Trump’s campaign operations in Iowa, which has more state staffers in 2020 than 2016.
• Bill Weld spoke with black faith leaders in San Diego on Thursday. He is attending a town hall in New Hampshire on Saturday.

What We’re Reading

• FiveThirtyEight: How The Democratic Candidates’ Popularity Has Changed Over A Year Of Campaigning
• NBC News: Iowa caucus app sparks election security concerns
• Politico: Democrats unleash surrogate armies

Flashback: January 24, 2016

Donald Trump led the Republican field in Iowa and New Hampshire with 34 percent support and 31 percent support, respectively, according to a Fox News poll. Ted Cruz followed in second place in both states with 23 percent in Iowa and 14 percent in New Hampshire.