Marie Harf Leaving Fox News to Join Seth Moulton Campaign

It’s not just President Trump who attracts Fox News talent.

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), who became the twentieth presidential candidate to launch a bid for the Democratic nomination last month, has nabbed a top personality from the network’s stable of contributors.

Marie Harf is stepping down from her post as a political commentator for Fox News Channel and co-host of Fox News Radio’s Benson and Harf—a show co-hosted with Guy Benson—to join Team Moulton as deputy campaign manager for policy and communications, The Daily Beast confirmed.

Harf’s hire adds more foreign-policy credentials to the 40-year-old veteran’s early presidential campaign. Prior to becoming a talking head, she worked as a senior communications adviser to former Secretary of State John Kerry and at the CIA as a Middle East analyst. She also ran former President Barack Obama’s national-security strategy during the 2012 election.

Harf has served as a Democratic voice on the conservative news channel. But she has also expressed criticism of her own party’s institutions like the Democratic National Committee, which she will likely have to work with for Moulton on a variety of election-related matters, including the primary debates and voter engagement.

“The DNC has to rebuild its image before 2020,” Harf said in an appearance on the network in late 2017. “Tom Perez has some more work to do.”

Moulton has also recently stirred up tension among top party brass, gaining national attention for leading an unsuccessful charge against House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi in 2018, while declining to challenge her personally. At the same time, his Serve America PAC gave more than $4 million to down-ballot candidates and helped flip nearly two dozen seats in the House.

While the three-term congressman’s presidential campaign is still in its early stages, he plans to ramp up additional staffing and early state travel in the coming weeks.

Moulton has hired Cathy Coyle, who recently worked at the Harvard Kennedy School as assistant dean in the Alumni Relations and Resource Development Office, to serve as national finance director.

“We’re super excited about these new hires as we continue to expand both nationally and on the ground. These resources will be a valuable asset to Seth and his mission to become president of the united states,” national press secretary Matt Corridoni told The Daily Beast.

The campaign has begun on-boarding early state staff and will have announcements about staff in all four early states at the beginning of June, Corridoni said. Moulton is also planning another multi-state swing for the end of the month.