Mary Beth Cahill, John Kerry's Former Campaign Manager, Joins Obama-Allied Super PAC

Obama-Allied Super PAC Hires Former Kerry Campaign Manager

President Barack Obama's allied super PAC is getting a major staffing boost as it struggles to compete with its conservative counterparts for resources and influence.

Bill Burton, the founder of Priorities USA Action, announced on Wednesday that Mary Beth Cahill, who served as campaign manager for the 2004 presidential bid of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), will join the group as a consultant on strategy and spending.

"Mary Beth brings an enormous wealth of experience in national campaigns and we couldn’t be happier that she’s joining us," Burton wrote. "As the election draws closer, her expertise in strategy and targeting will be invaluable in ensuring the President’s reelection."

A number of former Kerry campaign advisers are on the Obama campaign's payroll, chief among them deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter.

Cahill will likely be able to help the super PAC adopt the feel of the Obama campaign, even though the two entities are legally prohibited from coordinating. But her real asset will be in recruiting additional support for Priorities USA Action. The group has struggled to raise substantial sums of money, though it announced this week that it was spending 4 million dollars on a television advertising campaign targeting Romney's tenure at Bain Capital.

Cahill has been the director of the Washington, D.C. office of the United Auto Workers, a prominent labor union, and the executive director of EMILY's List, which works to increase the number pro-choice women in elected office. Priorities USA Action is likely hoping that Cahill will be able to parlay those ties to the union and progressive community into financial support for future ads.

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