Vice President Kamala Harris is scrambling to mobilize political operatives in Nevada as Democrat fears of Republicans sweeping the state's elected offices in November widens.
A White House official informed The Hill on Wednesday that Harris had hired former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's top aide, Megan Jones.
In addition to working for the notable Nevada Democrat, the top operative also served as a senior adviser to Harris' 2020 Democrat presidential primary campaign in the state.
Jones will start her role as a temporary special government employee later this week, where she is expected to help organize political planning, outreach, and coordination, a source told Politico.
Despite a slew of polls showing incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez-Masto handily winning the Nevada Senate race against Republican nominee Adam Laxalt, an average by FiveThirtyEight shows the margin only within 3.7 percentage points.
Further, a recent Trafalgar Group survey has Laxalt besting Masto by 2.4 points. Only 5.5% were undecided in that poll.
An average of Nevada gubernatorial race polls shows it's an even closer battle. Incumbent Democrat Steve Sisolak was beating Clark County Sherriff Joe Lombardo by just 1.5 points, with Trafalgar showing a Lombardo lead of two.
Jones' arrival follows those tight races — and also comes after a series of departures and reorganizations in the vice president's office. According to the New York Post, more than 13 staffers have left her office since December 2021.
The list of departures includes chief of staff Tina Flournoy, spokeswoman Symone Sanders, deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh, deputy chief of staff Michael Fuchs, and communications director Ashley Etienne.
One of those that exited, former domestic policy adviser Rohini Kosoglu, assured The Washington Post in July that her departure shouldn't be seen as a condemnation of Harris.
"It's been six years, and she understands that my family's very much looking forward to this time, and that I will always be here should she need any trusted information or counsel," Kosoglu said. "Even through this time period, she's been an invaluable source of support and guidance to me to come to this decision."
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