With weeks left until the general election, the Harris-Walz campaign is bringing on a seasoned operative in Iris Michelle Delgado to serve as New Jersey State Director and lead the campaign’s efforts to organize volunteer capacity and enthusiasm in-state to support our operation across the country. The campaign’s presence in New Jersey will serve as an organizing hub for volunteers who want to participate in phone bankings, door knocking, and other voter contact opportunities in nearby battleground states, including Pennsylvania.

“This election, we all need to do our part whether it’s canvassing, phone banking or talking to friends and family to fight for Vice President Harris’ New Way Forward that will lower costs for families, protect our freedoms and ensure everyone has an opportunity to get ahead,” said Harris-Walz Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez.

Iris Michelle Delgado

Iris Michelle Delgado grew up in Carteret and attended high school at JP Stevens in Edison Township, where she started her political career with former Edison Mayor George Spadoro. In her capacity at the Mayor’s office, Iris worked on local council races, recruited high school students to participate in local elections, and worked with the Middlesex County Democratic Organization (MCDO) during the 2004 presidential campaign.

Upon graduating from Cornell University in 2009, she began working for Governor Jon Corzine’s re-election campaign. She later served as the Special Assistant to Mary Kay Henry, the International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). In 2014, she managed a statewide independent expenditure opposing Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and then returned to the SEIU as the National Operations Director, working closely with Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

In 2017, Delgado returned to her home state to run Victory 2017, the coordinated campaign that was instrumental in electing Governor Phil Murphy and other Democrats up and down the ballot in New Jersey. Since 2018, she has served as the Executive Director of the Middlesex County Democratic Organization and the NJ Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, tasked with preserving and expanding upon the Democratic majority in the New Jersey General Assembly. She was also appointed by Speaker Craig Coughlin as one of the six Commissioners on the 2021 Congressional Redistricting Commission responsible for redrawing the congressional boundaries and was asked to staff the NJ Reapportionment Commission to assist the Commission in redrawing the legislative boundaries for the next decade.

The youngest of six, Delgado is the daughter of Chilean and Peruvian immigrants. A political data and targeting expert, she has worked in over 16 states to help elect Democratic public officials and pass ballot legislation to support working families.

From Middlesex County Community College:

A resident of Metuchen, Delgado is a political data and targeting expert who has worked to help elect public officials in more than 16 states, including Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, and U.S. Congresswoman Terri Sewell, the first African American woman elected to the House of Representatives from Alabama.

Delgado graduated from J.P. Stevens High School in Edison and completed her undergraduate studies at Cornell University, earning a bachelor’s degree in English, as well as in Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Upon graduation, she joined then Governor Jon Corzine’s re-election campaign. She later went on to serve as National Campaign Operations Director for Service Employees International Union (SEIU), overseeing a $3.1 million operations budget, which was part of a $10 million political program budget supporting 425-member political organizers across 26 states.

Delgado returned to her home state in 2017 to run the coordinated campaign to elect Governor Phil Murphy. Since 2017, she has led campaigns to elect leaders at all levels of government throughout the state, was appointed by Speaker Coughlin as a Commissioner to the New Jersey Congressional Redistricting Commission and opened a strategic consulting firm to train the next generation of leaders.

From earlier this year, via TAPInto:

Democratic consultant Iris Michelle Delgado – Middlesex County’s and one of New Jersey’s most-artful strategists – is the winner of a prestigious “Pollie Award,” as 2023’s national “Campaign Manager of the Year.”

The American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC), based in McLean, Virginia, bills its “Pollie Awards” as “The Oscars” for political prowess. Its annual awards honor Democrat and Republican operatives who work behind-the-scenes on national, state, county and local political campaigns.