Obama Gearing Up 2012 Re-Election Campaign: Headquarters in Chicago

The Obama administration on Thursday talked for the first time about President Obama's 2012 campaign; word that the national headquarters will be in Chicago, leaked earlier, was confirmed.

"I think that is likely that is going to happen," Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at the Thursday briefing when asked about Obama running for a second term. The question was prompted because the White House earlier on Thursday released details about Obama's 2012 re-election campaign to several news outlets. Gibbs said Obama will soon file papers with the Federal Election Commission making the Obama 2012 re-elect drive official.

The headquarters -- no office lease has been signed yet -- will open in Chicago in March or April, Politics Daily was told. The 2008 national campaign headquarters was in a downtown Chicago high rise.

White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod will be departing around the end of the month to return to Chicago. As part of the mid-term shake-up and planning for the 2012 re-election bid,
David Plouffe, the 2008 campaign manager, started at the White House last week as a senior adviser who will oversee Obama's politics from his new perch.

Key personnel moves Politics Daily has confirmed:

-- White House Social Secretary Julianna Smoot, the architect of Obama's extraordinary 2008 fund-raising success as finance director, will be stepping down in a few weeks to take on a major role in the re-election campaign as a deputy campaign manager. Smoot just wrapped up organizing the China State Dinner on Wednesday night. Last year, she replaced White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers. No successor for Smoot has been named.

-- Obama's 2008 finance chairman, Penny Pritzker, chairman of the board of TransUnion and chair and CEO of Pritzker Realty, will be a 2012 campaign adviser.

-- Democratic National Committee Executive Director Jennifer O'Malley Dillon will move to Chicago to become deputy campaign manager. Previously reported, but made official on Thursday: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina will be the campaign manager. Messina has been planning re-election strategy for some time. He has a meeting set up in Chicago on Feb. 2 with major supporters from the 2008 campaign.

-- Replacing Dillon at the DNC will be White House Political Director Patrick Gaspard. The White House will close its political operation and run its re-election politics through the 2012 campaign and the DNC.

-- Top DNC grass-roots organizers will be moving to Chicago, including Mitch Stewart, who runs Organizing for America, the entity created to absorb the 2008 grassroots field operation called Obama for America.

-- DNC Chairman Tim Kaine announced the staff changes at a meeting Thursday afternoon at DNC headquarters and in an e-mail to DNC members, who gather in Washington on Feb. 26-28 for the annual winter meeting.

Kaine said in a statement, "The Democratic National Committee is committed to supporting the President's agenda and helping Democratic candidates secure election and re-election.

"For the past two years, Jen O'Malley Dillon has done enormous work in helping lead us in that mission. Jen will be leaving the DNC for a new job of similar importance. As a Deputy Campaign Manager of the President's reelection campaign, she will play a critical role in ensuring that President Obama has the opportunity to continue to bring about positive, progressive change during a second term in the White House. I would like to congratulate Jen on this opportunity, thank her for her historic contribution to building a great DNC operation and wish her well in her transition to this new job. The President could not have done better than to tap Jen to help lead his reelection effort.

"Although Jen will be sorely missed at the Democratic National Committee, I was proud to announce earlier today that an eminently qualified and talented individual will be taking her place. White House Political Director Patrick Gaspard will be a welcome addition when he moves over to the DNC team. He brings to the job an unparalleled passion for the President, the Democratic Party and the type of civic engagement and grassroots organizing that fueled President Obama's victory in 2008 and that has been so important to the success of our party. I am certain that with Patrick helping lead our effort, the Democratic National Committee can continue to offer the President and other Democratic elected officials the support they need to keep America moving forward."