Mitch Stewart

Why He Matters

Stewart could be dubbed President Barack Obama’s head cheerleader. That’s because he runs Organizing for America (OFA), which is tasked with marshaling the 13 million volunteers recruited during Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and forging them into an unprecedented grassroots policy movement.

Urging former Obama campaign activists to spread information, OFA is attempting to leverage a 13-million strong email list that is unparelled in political history. It is intent on helping the president pass his most crucial policy initiatives, including the $787 billion stimulus package, the 2010 budget and health-care reform. 

An experienced campaigner, Stewart first joined the Obama team in 2007 as an Iowa caucus director. After Obama’s win there positioned him to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination, Stewart took over the important swing state of Virginia in the general election. For the first time in 44 years, the Old Dominion went to a Democratic candidate.

After the election, the Obama administration sought to convert the president's millions of ardent supporters into policy advocates. Housed in the Democratic National Committee (DNC), OFA urges  citizens to evangelize Obama’s policies. The experiment in converting a campaign network into issues advocacy will be closely watched by both political parties.

Path to Power

Raised by his father who was a professor of sociology at the University of South Dakota and his mother who taught 5th graders, Stewart had an early introduction to politics. One of his best friends as a child was the son of now-Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.).Response to Whorunsgov.com questionnaire by Mitch Stewart on June 11, 2009 Johnson worked in the South Dakota House of Representatives at the time, but the connection to the future senator would prove fruitful for Stewart.

For college, Stewart attended the University of South Dakota where he studied biology and chemistry. After graduating in 1999, Stewart joined Sen. Johnson’s offices in Sioux Falls, S.D. He would stay in Johnson’s South Dakota offices for a year before heading to Washington to work for the senator.

Stewart worked on Capitol Hill for two more years, and then returned to South Dakota to help with Johnson’s re-election efforts. In 2002, Johnson was facing a young, up-and-coming Republican, then-Rep. John Thune. President George W. Bush was extremely popular at the time, and he visited South Dakota five times during the 2002 campaign to support Thune. Stewart worked as a regional field director, helping Johnson eke out a victory by less than 530 votes.

After the successful Johnson campaign, Stewart found a new passion: elections. He immediately followed the Johnson campaign by heading down to Louisiana to aid Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D) re-election efforts as she faced a runoff after failing to gain a majority in the general election.

Landrieu successfully won her re-election bid, and Stewart began work on the 2004 presidential race. He headed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to work as a regional field director for presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.). Although Edwards fared well, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) won the Iowa caucuses and used the momentum to secure the Democratic nod. But by that time, Stewart had already headed back to South Dakota as a fierce fight for a Senate seat was beginning to shape.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D) was up for re-election in 2004, trying to beat back Thune, who had been energized in 2002 after nearly knocking off Johnson. Daschle took hits as Thune painted the minority leader as an obstructionist. Thune won the election, marking the first time a sitting party leader had lost a re-election bid since 1952.

After the disappointing loss in South Dakota, Stewart moved to the D.C. based, Environmental Defense Fund as national field director. He assisted the non-profit in its climate change campaign. Stewart stayed a year before becoming the Minnesota director for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party.

The Issues

During the 2008 campaign, the Obama team compiled a list of 13 million email addresses. While the White House can’t use the email list for political purposes, the Democratic National Committee can. In January 2009, the DNC sent a mass mailing to the list and announced the creation of OFA.Rutenberg, Jim and Nagourney, Adam, "Melding Obama’s Web to a YouTube Presidency," The New York Times, Jan. 26, 2009 OFA was devised to invite discussion and build support for White House policies through Obama’s campaign activists.

The first hint of OFA’s strategy came in February 2009, when Obama urged Congress to pass an economic stimulus package.

OFA called for Obama supporters to throw house parties in order to discuss the economic stimulus plan. There was a video shown at each party explaining the stimulus proposal, and  Obama followers were urged to get the word out to neighbors. The White House mstated that OFA was not meant to advocate its policy agenda, but to get grassroots supporters involved in the legislative process. According to OFA, 3,500 house parties took place across the nation.Sargent, Greg, "3,587 House Parties?," The Plum Line, Feb. 9, 2009 The stimulus package passed days after the parties ended, but it’s impossible to say how much impact the get-togethers had on its approval.

The Network

Growing up in South Dakota, Stewart was good friends with Sen. Tim Johnson’s son. Stewart worked in Johnson’s Senate offices in Sioux Falls and D.C. from 1999 to 2002.

In 2002, Stewart worked on Johnson’s re-election campaign, where he met Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, who is now executive director at the DNC. The two would work together during Tom Daschle’s 2004 re-election campaign and for Obama in Iowa during the 2008 Democratic primary.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Stewart headed Obama’s efforts in Virginia. Gov. Tim Kaine (D) was instrumental in Obama’s eventual win, helping Stewart’s grassroots efforts. Kaine now chairs the DNC.

In January 2009, OFA sent an email to 13 million people with a link to a YouTube video that showed Obama’s 2008 campaign manager David Plouffe announcing the creation of OFA and introducing Stewart as its executive director.

Campaign Contributions

Stewart has not donated to any candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.Center for Responsive Politics