Kamala Harris and Julián Castro are the only two top candidates with more people of color in senior staff positions than white people. Photos: Spencer Platt/Getty Images; Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Women hold the majority of senior positions for top 2020 Democratic campaigns — and a quarter of those aides identify as women of color, according to a new analysis by the Wall Street Journal.
Why it matters: The behind-the-scenes makeup of the 2020 campaign — which already features the most diverse field of candidates in history — reflects a broader national trend: minorities will become the majority in the U.S. by 2045.
Details:
- Sen. Kamala Harris and former HUD Secretary Julián Castro both have more people of color in senior staff positions than white people.
- Castro and Sen. Bernie Sanders have hired the most women in senior staff positions.
- It's not just Democrats. President Trump's re-election campaign has more women in senior staff positions than men.
The big picture: The efforts for candidates to build out diverse campaign staffs highlight their recognition that America's demography is similarly shifting.
- Sanders' campaign manager Faiz Shakir, the first Muslim to head a presidential bid, told the WSJ that the Vermont senator said he wanted "a team that looks like America."
- Sanders admitted earlier this year that his 2016 campaign staff was "too white" and "too male."
What they're saying: "It’s a competitive advantage as long we continue to maximize it. ... It’s just making sure that those voices are at the decision-making table and included in our thinking," Laphonza Butler, a senior Harris adviser and an African-American woman, told the WSJ.