Donald Trump Launches His Offensive Into 15 ‘Battleground States’

The latest polls suggest Donald Trump has fully closed the gap—not just nationally, but in almost every key “battleground” state—with Hillary Clinton, and now he’s preparing to launch his post-convention offensive.

The Trump presidential campaign released the following statement Monday evening:

Today, the Trump campaign is pleased to announce the expansion of its campaign team, with 15 state directors and advisers now providing senior leadership in key battleground states around the country. These advisers will all be tasked with mobilizing and organizing grassroots support for Mr. Trump, taking the campaign message to the people in order to Make America Great Again.

The campaign will continue to build a superior political team as it works to defeat Hillary Clinton in November. Trump now has battleground state leadership in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Virginia.

Some of the new hires brought immediate praise. Others drew some head scratching. Here is the complete list:

• Brian Seitchik will be joining the campaign as its Arizona State Director, bringing extensive campaign management and strategy experience to the Grand Canyon State. Prior to his role with the Trump campaign, Brian directed statewide campaigns in Florida, Ohio, Nevada, California and Arizona. Brian also has experience working at consulting firms in New York and Washington, D.C., as well as serving as the Communications Director for the California Republican Party.
• Patrick Davis will be joining the campaign as its Colorado State Director. Patrick was a leading force behind the U.S. Senate Republican majority expanding to 55 seats in 2004. In 2005, Patrick founded Patrick Davis Consulting, LLC, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Patrick brings decades of political experience to the team, and has been a key contributor in over 30 electoral victories across the country.
• Jennifer Locetta has been promoted to Florida State Director after serving as the Deputy State Director. She will oversee day-to-day campaign operations in Florida through the general election. Jennifer has an extensive background in campaign management, data organization and grassroots voter outreach. In 2012, Jennifer served as Statewide Data Director for the Republican party of Florida.
• Suzanne Jaworowski will be joining the campaign as its Indiana Senior Adviser. Suzanne most recently served as Communications and Government Relations Director for Sunrise Coal/Hallador Energy Company, where she was responsible for the company’s communications, public relations and advocacy efforts. In addition to her work with Sunrise Coal, Suzie consulted on strategy and market research for several advertising agencies and has managed advertising campaigns across the country.
• Eric Branstad will be joining the campaign as its Iowa State Director. Eric is a public affairs specialist with an extensive background in grassroots and earned media programs. He most recently worked for LSG group where he set up media events with major networks, and in the past has led successful caucus oriented campaigns for the Gates Foundation and various elected officials.
• Christie-Lee McNally will be leading the Trump campaign’s efforts as Maine State Director. Christie serves as President of Raven Strategies, LLC, where she oversees client lobbying, grassroots, communications and fundraising needs. Christie is a major player in Maine politics, possessing more than a decade of experience working for the state party during which the GOP earned majorities in the House, Senate and a victory in the Governor’s race.
• Scott Hagerstrom will be bringing over 25 years of political experience to the position of Michigan State Director for the campaign. Hagerstrom served as the Michigan State Director for the Trump campaign in the primary, and helped win the state handily with 36.5% of the vote. Before joining the Trump campaign, Hagerstrom served as the State Director for Americans for Prosperity in Michigan for nearly seven years, and before that worked as an aide in the Michigan House of Representatives.
• Charles Munoz will be serving as Nevada State Director for the upcoming general election. Charles joined the campaign in August of 2015 and won both the Nevada caucuses and Arizona primary with record turnout. He is a former Deputy State Director, grassroots director and southern Nevada field coordinator for Americans for Prosperity.
• Matt Ciepielowski will continue serving as the New Hampshire State Director after delivering Mr. Trump’s first primary victory in the state earlier this year. Matt helped secure over 35 percent of the vote in New Hampshire, and was later deployed to manage the ground game in over a dozen additional primaries.
• Mike Biundo will be joining the campaign as Senior Political Adviser after serving as National Senior Adviser for both John Kasich’s presidential campaign and U.S. Senator Rand Paul. Biundo previously served as the National Campaign Manager for former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum’s 2012 presidential campaign, and as National Deputy Coalitions Director for Mitt Romney’s general election campaign. Biundo has been named New Hampshire’s number one “key operative” by Granite State and is nationally recognized as a top political operative.
• Bob Paduchik has joined the campaign as its Ohio State Director, bringing three decades of experience leading political and public affairs campaigns. Most notably he was the campaign manager for Rob Portman’s successful 2010 campaign for Senate, and was State Director in Ohio for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Bob is an expert in Ohio politics and looks to help deliver the state for Mr. Trump come November.
• Ted Christian brings two decades of political experience to the position of Pennsylvania State Director. Ted served nearly four years in the Bush Administration, and in 2008 was the State Director in Pennsylvania for McCain-Palin. Most recently, Christian was the Deputy State Director on the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania and oversaw the delegate races in the April primary.
• David Urban will be serving as the campaign’s Pennsylvania Senior Adviser. Urban has been involved in Pennsylvania politics for decades, serving as senior adviser and Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, and as an attorney in private practice. Urban brings a diverse array of experiences to the Trump campaign’s Pennsylvania team, and has been referred to by state and national publications as a top operative. Urban has worked at ACG Advocacy since 2002 providing strategic counsel to a wide variety of clients.
• Thomas Midanek has joined the Trump campaign as its Virginia State Director. Thomas boasts a wide breadth of experience in the political and legislative arenas, having served as campaign manager for numerous state-level and congressional campaigns in Virginia. Thomas has held a position at the Virginia House Republican Campaign Committee and will look to secure victory for Mr. Trump in this key state in November.
• Pete Meachum will serve as Wisconsin State Director, and most recently served as Chief of Staff for Congressman Sean Duffy and has also served as Finance Director at the American Action Network and Congressional Leadership Fund. Prior to this, Meachum served as Director of Member Services in Mr. McCarthy’s whip office and was Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite of Florida.