Lavora Barnes

Lavora Barnes is an American political executive, currently serving as the Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. She is the first African-American woman elected to be the position[2][3][4][5] and the second woman.[6] She was elected to the position in 2019.

Lavora Barnes
Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party
Assumed office
February 3, 2019
Preceded byBrandon Dillon
Personal details
Born1964/1965 (age 54–55)[1]
North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationCollege of William and Mary (BA)

Early life and education

Barnes was born in North Carolina and grew up in Virginia. She graduated from the College of William & Mary in 1987.[7]

Career

Before moving to Michigan, she was the Virginia press secretary for the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign and later worked in his administration.[8][9]

In 2004, Barnes became a staffer in the Michigan House of Representatives. She worked the Communications director for the Michigan House Democratic Caucus three years later. She also worked as Oakland County's deputy clerk and the state director for the Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign.[7] In 2015, she became the Michigan Democratic Party's chief operating officer before party chair four years later.[6] In her campaign for the state chair in 2019, she received endorsements from Brandon Dillon, Gretchen Whitmer, and state Attorney General, Dana Nessel.[6][10]

References
  1. Barnes-storming: Veteran Democratic organizer is frontrunner to lead party in ‘19
  2. Staff, Stateside. "Stateside: First black woman to chair MI Dems; reviving the "shoebox" lunch; kids killed by guns". www.michiganradio.org. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
  3. "Bankole: Michigan Dems could elect first black chair". Detroit News. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
  4. Barrett, Malachi (2019-09-16). "Michigan Democratic Party wants more minorities involved in picking Trump's challenger". mlive. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  5. "Will Stacey Abrams have more of an impact on the 2020 election from the sidelines?". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  6. Gray, Kathleen. "Election success for women could extend to state party leadership jobs". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
  7. "Obama for America 2012 Campaign Organization - Michigan". www.p2012.org. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
  8. Barrett, Malachi (2019-04-18). "Women leading Michigan's political parties prepare for tough fight in 2020". mlive. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
  9. "Barnes nabs UAW, AFSCME endorsements for Democratic Party chair". Detroit News. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  10. "Women leading Michigan's political parties prepare for tough fight in 2020". mlive. 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Brandon Dillon		 Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party
2019–present		 Incumbent
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