Julianna Smoot is an American political aide and fundraiser for the Democratic Party. She served as a Deputy Manager of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's 2012 presidential reelection campaign, having previously served as

White House Social Secretary The White House social secretary is responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution of official social events at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Function The social ...

Deputy Assistant to the President The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) comprises the offices and list of federal agencies in the United States, agencies that support the work of the President of the United States, president at the center of governmen ...

. and Chief of Staff to

United States Trade Representative The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting Foreign trade of the United States, United States ...

Ron Kirk Ronald Kirk (born June 27, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Trade Representative from 2009 to 2013, as the 97th secretary of state of Texas, and as the 56th mayor of Dallas from 1995 to 2002. He is a me ...

. Smoot previously served as a professional fundraiser for the Democratic Party. She was the national finance director for

Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign Barack Obama, then junior United States senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for president of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois. After winning a majority of delegates in the Democratic primaries of 2008, ...

. Under her direction, the campaign raised $32.5 million during the second quarter of 2007 and by election day, more money than any campaign in American history. She was named Social Secretary after her predecessor, Desirée Rogers resigned on February 26, 2010.

Early life and education

Smoot was born in North Carolina, where she was a

debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Origin ...

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

and the surrounding area. She graduated from

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

in 1989, where she was a classmate of Stephanie Cutter.

Career

She took leave from her job at the American Trial Lawyers Association to be finance director of

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from 1999 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the vice presidential nominee under ...

's 1998 campaign for U.S. Senate. She met Pete Rouse and Steve Hildebrand on

Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and people of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as chief spokespersons for their respective political parties, holding the ...

Tom Daschle Thomas Andrew Daschle ( ; born December 9, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who represented South Dakota in the United States Senate from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he led the Senate Democratic Caucus during the ...

's unsuccessful reelection campaign in 2004, where she raised $21 million. Rouse and Hildebrand brought her to the first Obama presidential campaign in January, 2007. She has also held positions with Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois and

Jay Rockefeller John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is an American retired politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015). He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as governor of West Vir ...

of West Virginia. She worked in Senatorial campaigns for

Chris Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the List of United Sta ...

and

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2 ...

. During the 2006 election cycle, she raised record sums as finance director for the

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. Its purpose is to elect Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current Chair is Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of Ne ...

, under

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...

. Smoot was, according to a press report, declared "MVP for the first fundraising quarter" due to her success in raising money for the Obama presidential campaign in 2007. In 2013 she founded the political consulting firm STG Results with fellow Obama staffer Scott Tewes. Smoot is now serving on the board of nonprofit

Obama Foundation The Barack Obama Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization founded in 2014. It oversees the creation of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, runs the My Brother's Keeper Alliance (a program Barack Obama began while he was president) ...

, which was officially set up for constructing the Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum. She is also a founder and senior advisor of WaterWorks Fund, a funding portal for sustainable water solutions.

Personal life

Her husband, Lon Johnson, was briefly the chairperson of the

Michigan Democratic Party The Michigan Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Michigan. It is based in Lansing. Curtis Hertel Jr. is the party's current chair. Structure Residents of the state of Michigan at least 16 years of age are ...

until he resigned in June 2015 to run for the United States House of Representatives in Michigan's 1st District and was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2012 election for the 103rd district in the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

. His wife's employment in the Obama reelection effort was a campaign issue.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smoot, Julianna 1967 births Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign Living people Michigan Democrats Obama administration personnel Smith College alumni People from Clinton, North Carolina