Jennifer Ridder served as deputy campaign manager for U.S. Sen. Mark Udall’s re-election campaign. (Udall campaign photo_)
Jennifer Ridder, the deputy campaign manager for Sen. Mark Udall’s reelection bid, is the new Mountain West regional director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
That’s the group that works to elect Democrats to Congress, which means in Colorado she will be focusing on trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman of Aurora in 2016. His seat is the only true tossup seat among the seven congressional districts right now, although if Democratic Congressman Ed Perlmutter of Golden ever retires there will be scramble to succeed him.
“I’m excited to help elect candidates who will put middle class families above partisan ideologies,” Ridder said. “The Republican-controlled Congress has shown it’s more interested in pursuing a radical agenda than in moving America forward and this election will give Coloradans and Democrats the opportunity to chart a new course.”
Jenn Ridder.
Ridder. who also goes by “Jenn,” is the daughter of political icons Rick Ridder and Joannie Braden of . RBI bills itself “one of the longest standing and most successful progressive consulting firms in America.”
The 28-year-old got involved in politics when she was 16 and traveled to Iowa to volunteer on Howard Dean’s campaign. She worked in Colorado on both of Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.
As the deputy campaign manager for Sen. Udall, she handled all political issues for the campaign and served as a senior adviser, running everything from debate prep sessions to the 24-day statewide bus tour that ended on Election Day. It turned out to be a heartbreaker for her. by 1.95 percentage points, the first incumbent senator in Colorado to be taken out in 36 years.
After the election, Ridder briefly worked for new House Majority Leader Cristana Duran, a Denver Democrat, before going to work for what is known as the D-Triple C.
“At the DCCC, I recruit Democratic congressional candidates and oversee Democratic congressional campaigns — both challengers and incumbents — across 13 states from Iowa to Nevada, including Colorado,” she said.
In a presidential year, Coffman’s seat is winnable, Ridder said, “so finding a good candidate will be critical.”
“I’ll be back in Colorado soon enough,” she said.
