25+ Obama White House and Campaign Alumni Endorse Cammie Croft for Congress
MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY — More than 25 former senior staff of President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and White House administration today announced their endorsement of Cammie Croft for Congress in New Jersey’s 11th District, citing her integrity, toughness, and lifelong commitment to working families.
In a joint letter to Democratic voters, the former Obama officials — many of whom worked closely with Cammie during the campaign and inside the White House — described her as a public servant shaped by one of the most demanding periods in modern American politics and uniquely prepared for the challenges facing the country today.
“We saw firsthand the qualities that define her: relentless integrity, creativity, toughness, and a deep commitment to serving working Americans,” the signers wrote. “At this moment of national peril, we believe we urgently need her in Congress.”
Cammie served in the Obama White House during the fight to pass the Affordable Care Act, helping defend the law against misinformation and attacks while working to expand affordable healthcare for millions of Americans. The endorsers highlighted her role in pushing for open, accountable government and upholding the Obama administration’s ethics standards — and noted that she continued that commitment after leaving Washington.
“While too many people treat public service as a stepping stone to private gain, Cammie rejected the revolving door,” their endorsement letter states. After the White House, Cammie spent a decade fighting to protect immigrant families from Trump’s cruelty, then later helped build a national clean energy nonprofit focused on lowering utility bills for working families.
The endorsers emphasized that Croft’s background — from growing up in a working-class family to serving in government and nonprofit leadership — gives her both the experience and moral clarity needed at a time of rising costs, corruption, and threats to democracy.
“Cammie Croft brings the backbone and values this moment demands,” they wrote. “We urge voters to support her for Congress and send a leader to Washington who will fight for working families and stand up to abuses of power.”
The list of endorsers includes senior figures from the Obama campaign and administration, including Jesse Lee, Buffy Wicks, Macon Phillips, Tara McGuinness, Ari Matusiak, Aneesh Chopra, Jeremy Bird, and others who served across the White House, Cabinet agencies, and Obama for America. The full letter read:
To the Democratic Voters of Northern New Jersey,
We write as former colleagues of Cammie Croft from the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign and the Obama Administration. We worked closely with her during one of the most transformative and demanding periods in modern American politics, and we saw firsthand the qualities that define her: relentless integrity, creativity, toughness, and a deep commitment to serving working Americans. At this moment of national peril, we believe we urgently need her in Congress.
From the beginning, Cammie embodied the Obama ethic that public service must be free of corruption and accountable to the people. In an administration that signed the toughest ethics pledge in history, she went even further—pushing government to open up, engage directly with the public online, and answer hard questions. She has always believed that democracy only works when it serves and listens to working people, not special interests.
Cammie was also integral to some of the most consequential fights of the Obama presidency. She helped defend and pass the Affordable Care Act, standing up to relentless misinformation so millions of families could finally access affordable healthcare without discrimination over pre-existing conditions. The fight to pass the ACA was personal for her, shaped by her upbringing and her mother’s struggle to raise a family without reliable health insurance.
After the White House, Cammie continued to reject the revolving door that too often defines Washington. She spent her career fighting for human rights, immigrant communities, and working families. Most recently, she helped build a national clean energy organization that lowered utility bills for families while reducing pollution—becoming an expert not just in energy policy, but in the everyday cost pressures people face all around the country.
At a time when corruption, rising costs, and authoritarian threats are undermining our democracy, Cammie Croft brings the experience, backbone, and moral clarity this moment demands. We urge you to support her for Congress and send a leader to Washington who will fight for working families and stand up to abuses of power.
Sincerely,
Jesse Lee, Obama White House
Buffy Wicks, Obama ‘08 Campaign, Obama White House
Natalie Foster, Obama for America
Jonathan McBride, Obama ‘08 Campaign, Obama White House
Betsy Hoover, Obama ‘08 Campaign, Obama for America
Andrew Bleeker, Obama ‘08 Campaign, Obama Transition Team
Will Bunnett, Obama ‘08 Campaign
Dan Leistikow, Obama ‘08 Campaign, Obama Administration, Energy Department
Dan McSwain, Obama ‘08 Campaign
Christina Reynolds, Obama ‘08 Campaign, Obama White House
Jeremy Bird, Obama ‘08 Campaign, Obama for America
Nick Lo Bue, Obama White House
Josh Hendler, Obama for America
Kate Gage, Obama ‘08 Campaign, Obama White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Macon Phillips, Obama ‘08, White House & State Department
Theo LeCompte, Obama ‘08 & ‘12 Campaigns, Commerce Department
Tara McGuinness, Obama White House
Ari Matusiak, Obama White House
Bev Godwin, Obama White House
Matt Compton, Obama White House
Nikki Sutton, Obama ‘08 Campaign, Obama White House & Commerce Department
Thomas Kelley, Obama ‘08 Campaign, Obama White House
Sarah Bernard, Obama White House
Jessica Teal, Obama ‘08, U.S. Digital Service 2014-15
Aneesh Chopra, Obama White House
Martin Cuellar, Obama ‘08 Campaign, Obama White House
Brandon Hurlbut, Obama ‘08 Campaign, White House, Department of Energy Chief of Staff
ABOUT CAMMIE
Raised in a small railroad town, Cammie Croft was the first in her immediate family to graduate from college and has spent more than two decades in public service. Her Jersey mom–a woman who was raising four kids by the time she was 20–taught Cammie to be a fighter.
Cammie went from being a free-school-lunch kid to working in the Obama White House, helping pass the Affordable Care Act. She has always worked to ensure government delivers for working families–including the decade she spent fighting for immigrant rights.
Most recently, Cammie built a clean energy nonprofit from the ground up, helping families lower their energy bills nationwide. A mom of three raising her own family in Montclair, Cammie is running for Congress to lower costs and build a stronger, fairer economy for New Jersey families.
“Running for Congress was never part of my plan,” Croft said in a video announcing her campaign. “But I realized that one day my kids will ask me what I did, and when they ask, I need to be able to tell them that I did everything I possibly could.”
Cammie’s work will build on the strong foundation laid by Congresswoman–and now Governor-elect–Mikie Sherrill. Cammie will continue the fight to protect health care, stand up to corruption, and deliver critical investments in infrastructure and education.
For more information, visit CammieforCongress.com
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