Aaron Keyak tapped to lead Jewish outreach for Biden campaign

Former vice president Joe Biden’s campaign team has hired Aaron Keyak, former head of the National Jewish Democratic Council, to oversee Jewish outreach.

Keyak, who called the 2020 contest “the most important election of our lifetimes,” boasts a background in Democratic politics.

He already serves on the Biden campaign’s finance committee. And in addition to stints as communications director for Democratic representatives Jerrold Nadler of New York and Steve Rothman of New Jersey, Keyak helped lead a Jewish outreach team known as “The Hub” that backed President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection bid. The group claimed partial credit for Obama’s victory in Florida, where it led major outreach efforts.

Keyak also teamed up with fellow Democratic strategist Steve Rabinowitz to found Bluelight Strategies, a DC-based political consulting group, in 2014. Keyak has taken a leave of absence from the group while working on the Biden campaign.

In recent presidential elections, Jewish American voters have heavily favored Democrats. According to Pew Research, they backed Al Gore in 2000 (79 percent), John Kerry in 2004 (74 percent), Obama in 2008 (78 percent) and 2012 (69 percent), and Hillary Clinton in 2016 (71 percent). —Religion News Service