Laura Bustamante, a prominent Democratic grassroots strategist with a record of increasing Latino voter turnout, has joined Andy Kim’s U.S. Senate campaign as the new statewide political director.
“We’re building a movement to make sure that people have a voice and to help Democrats up and down the ballot win this November. Laura’s experience will be a critical part of making sure we succeed,” Kim said.
Bustamante has worked on campaigns for Rep. Mikie Sherrill, Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, and Jersey City Councilman James Solomon. She headed advocacy at the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice and is the New Jersey Democratic State Committee Latino Caucus vice chair and a Garden State Equality board member.
“New Jersey needs more leaders like Congressman Kim to fight for our values with transparency and authenticity, and I am excited to join the team and help usher in a new era of New Jersey politics,” Bustamante said.
The move represents some adjustments to the Kim campaign as they shift to a general election strategy in a race where he is the frontrunner. Brittany Claybrooks, who served as Kim’s North Jersey political director during the primary, left the campaign to run in a special Democratic primary for Donald Payne’s unexpired term in Congress. She received about 5% of the vote.