Steyer Seeks Aides for Possible 2020 Run -- in Anonymous LinkedIn Ad

“A high profile political campaign based on the West Coast is seeking highly skilled political professionals to join our national campaign team,” the job description begins.

It describes “state director” posts in Nevada, South Carolina and New Hampshire.

Nowhere is Steyer’s name mentioned in the posting. But the language and structure matches verbatim those of job opportunities listed with one of Steyer’s other political efforts, NextGen America. Both seek, for instance, “prior training in anti-oppression, equity and inclusion organizing.”

A spokeswoman for Steyer, Aleigha Cavalier, acknowledged that he was responsible for the LinkedIn advertisement.

“As Tom has said publicly — he is considering how he can have the most impact in 2020 and our team is exploring staffing options should he decide to move forward with a run,” she said in an email. “Tom has not made a final decision and any discussions with potential staff are preliminary.”

Listing senior jobs for a potential presidential campaign anonymously on LinkedIn is unusual, to say the least. The listing was first spotted by a reporter for The Atlantic, though it was not linked to Steyer.

With as many as three-dozen Democrats considering a 2020 run — former housing secretary Julian Castro announced an exploratory committee Wednesday — finding enough talent in every state to staff all those campaigns could be difficult.

Steyer’s listing is among the most concrete signs of his seriousness in the endeavor. He financed television ads supporting impeachment — sometimes to the chagrin of congressional Democrats — in 2018, using the campaign to build what his website says is a list of nearly 6.5 million supporters of that cause.

Of the first four states in the nominating calendar, only Iowa, the first, is missing from Steyer’s job posting. An aide said Steyer already has connections there.

The job posting does not explicitly say it is for a presidential campaign but responsibilities will include to “oversee an organization focused on building capacity, engaging local activists, and increasing the candidate’s presences and stature, while preparing for the 2020 State Primary” and to “develop a staffing plan and hiring timeline for a 2020 Presidential Race in Nevada in collaboration with HQ HR and leadership.”

Then there is the final bullet point in the “bonus points” section: “Experience working on Presidential campaigns.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.