Amanda Renteria

Amanda Andrea Renteria (born November 15, 1974) is an American political aide who has worked as the National Political Director for Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential run, chief of operations for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and chief of staff and legislative advisor to United States Senators Dianne Feinstein and Debbie Stabenow. A member of the Democratic Party, Renteria is the first Latina Chief of Staff in the history of the United States Senate. She was the Democratic nominee for the United States House of Representatives from California's 21st congressional district in 2014, but lost to incumbent Republican David Valadao. In February 2018, she announced her candidacy for Governor of California.

Amanda Renteria
Born	Amanda Andrea Renteria November 15, 1974 Woodlake, California, U.S.
Education	Stanford University (BA) Harvard University (MBA)
Political party	Democratic

Personal life and education

Renteria's father emigrated from Mexico in the 1960s, settling in Woodlake, California; her mother was born in the United States.[1] Renteria is the second of three daughters. She double-majored in economics and political science at Stanford University, writing her senior honors thesis on women in politics.[2] She played basketball and softball[3] for the Stanford Cardinal. Renteria also earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.[4] Renteria lives in California, with her husband Patrick Brannelly, a managing director for a non-profit focused on brain-related diseases, and two children.[1][5]

Career

After college, Renteria became a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs. She decided to move to the public sector to "make a difference," working for one year as a math teacher at her former high school in Woodlake and helping San Jose with a neighborhood revitalization initiative, before going to Harvard Business School.[1][2]

Renteria became a member of Senator Dianne Feinstein's staff in 2005. She later took a job with Senator and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow as a legislative aid on economic issues. She was promoted to legislative director, and became Stabenow's chief of staff in 2008.[2] Renteria was the first Latina chief of staff in Senate history.[6]

In 2013, Renteria was considered for the role of chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but withdrew her name from consideration.[7] According to Reuters, “Washington policy-watchers widely assumed that Renteria would get the job, but last-minute questions about her perceived lack of experience got in the way.”[8] Politico noted that “financial reform advocates reacted with shock to reports that the White House was considering her for the position.”[9]

In August 2013, Renteria moved back to California, where she briefly worked as a substitute teacher before announcing her congressional candidacy.[5]

2014 congressional candidacy

Renteria ran for Congress in California's 21st congressional district. On announcing her candidacy, she stated, "I'm running because I grew up here, and I believe the Valley needs a strong voice in Washington. We have to have folks who know how to work across the aisle, and who know how to be effective."[5] Republican David Valadao holds the seat. In the June 3 primary, Renteria received 11,682 votes and about 25.6% overall, ahead of fellow Democrat John Hernandez, but fell nearly 40% behind Valadao, thus becoming the Democratic nominee.[10] At the time of the primary, Cook Political Report considered the seat to be “likely Republican.”[11]

On July 20, 2014, both Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and representative Nancy Pelosi held a fundraiser to support Renteria's candidacy.[12] President Barack Obama also appeared at a fundraiser with Renteria, calling her one of “two outstanding candidates and part of what it is that we’re just trying to build here and across the country." According to the Fresno Bee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reserved $1 million for ads in September in her district.[13] On October 7 Vice President Joe Biden spoke at a fundraiser for Renteria.[14][15]

On the Affordable Care Act, The Hill reported Renteria as saying that “something needed to be done at the time and that she opposes repealing the law now.”[16]

In October 2014, Roll Call reported that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced plans to cut campaign ads in the final two weeks of the campaign, "a signal the party does not see a path to victory for these candidates or races."[17]

In the November 4 general election, Renteria lost to Valadao by an almost 58 to 42 margin.[18]

2016 Clinton campaign

Leaked emails of John Podesta show that the Hillary Clinton campaign was looking for a "Hispanic woman" for the position of political director of her 2016 presidential campaign.[19] Following the loss to Valadao, Renteria was hired to fill that position.[20]

Hillary Clinton email investigation

In early March 2016, hackers working with Dutch intelligence had reportedly provided a highly classified Russian government document to the FBI.[21] The document, which had "possible translation issues," had purportedly contained a memorialization of an alleged conversation between Renteria and then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch.[22][23] One of the allegations within the document said that Renteria had been assured that "Lynch would keep the Clinton investigation from going too far."[24][25][26] Although the FBI determined that the document was not credible, FBI Director James Comey said it was "one of the bricks in the load" that led to his decision to not consult with the Department of Justice before closing the investigation.[26][27][28]

2018 gubernatorial campaign

On February 20, 2018, Renteria announced her candidacy in the 2018 California gubernatorial election.[29] Renteria finished seventh out of 27 candidates on the ballot in California's unique "top-two primary"; she received 86,287 votes, for 1.3% of the vote. Renteria finished behind Democratic candidates Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom (who advanced to the runoff with 33.5% of the vote), former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (13.2%), State Treasurer John Chiang (9.5%) and former Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin (3.3%). She also finished behind Republicans John H. Cox (who advanced to the runoff against Newsom with 25.7% of the vote) and State Assemblyman Travis Allen (9.5%).

Electoral history

California's 21st congressional district, 2014 (Primary):

• David Valadao (incumbent) – 28,773 (63.0%)
• Amanda Renteria – 11,682 (25.6%)
• John Hernandez – 5,232 (11.5%)

California's 21st congressional district, 2014:

• David Valadao (incumbent) – 45,907 (57.8%)
• Amanda Renteria – 33,470 (42.2%)

Results

Despite the fact that 100% of precincts have reported this does not include mail-in ballots. It is estimated that as many as a million votes remain to be counted. All counties must submit their vote totals to the California Secretary of State by July 6, 2018.

Nonpartisan blanket primary results[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gavin Newsom	2,179,989	33.5
	Republican	John H. Cox	1,669,775	25.7
	Democratic	Antonio Villaraigosa	856,333	13.2
	Republican	Travis Allen	619,239	9.5
	Democratic	John Chiang	616,789	9.5
	Democratic	Delaine Eastin	216,159	3.3
	Democratic	Amanda Renteria	86,287	1.3
	Republican	Robert C. Newman II	41,744	0.6
	Democratic	Michael Shellenberger	28,579	0.4
	Republican	Peter Y. Liu	25,351	0.4
	Republican	Yvonne Girard	20,375	0.3
	Peace and Freedom	Gloria La Riva	16,959	0.3
	Democratic	J. Bribiesca	15,692	0.2
	Green	Josh Jones	14,623	0.2
	Libertarian	Zoltan Istvan	13,360	0.2
	Democratic	Albert Caesar Mezzetti	10,850	0.2
	Democratic	Robert Davidson Griffis	9,999	0.2
	Libertarian	Nickolas Wildstar	10,560	0.2
	Democratic	Akinyemi Agbede	8,434	0.1
	Democratic	Thomas Jefferson Cares	8,115	0.1
	Green	Christopher N. Carlson	6,555	0.1
	No party preference	Hakan "Hawk" Mikado	4,867	0.1
	Democratic	Klement Tinaj	4,749	0.1
	No party preference	Johnny Wattenburg	4,524	0.1
	No party preference	Desmond Silveira	4,179	0.1
	No party preference	Jeffrey Edward Taylor	3,598	0.1
	No party preference	Shubham Goel	3,513	0.1
	No party preference	Armando M. Arreola (write-in)	-	-
	Green	Veronika Fimbres (write-in)	-	-
	Republican	K. Pearce (write-in)	-	-
	No party preference	Arman Soltani (write-in)	-	-
	No party preference	Peter Crawford Valentino (write-in)
Total votes			5,629,326	100.00%

References

1. Gamboa, Suzanne (April 4, 2014). "Amanda Renteria Hopes Local Ties Help Vault Her to U.S. House". NBC News. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
2. Brady, Jessica (October 16, 2008). "Renteria Doesn't Blend In". Roll Call. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
3. "Key Hillary Clinton aide honed her skills in Stanford athletics - SFChronicle.com". www.sfchronicle.com. July 3, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
4. Gonzales, Nathan L. (September 18, 2013). "Democrats Ready to Land Recruit in Elusive California District". Roll Call. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
5. Doyle, Michael (September 29, 2013). "Congressional hopeful Amanda Renteria wants to give Valley 'a strong voice'". The Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
6. "Clinton Natl Political Director Amanda Renteria is a Latina "First"". NBC News. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
7. Miedema, Douwe (July 8, 2013). "Renteria withdraws candidacy for U.S. CFTC chair". Reuters. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
8. Miedema, Douwe (September 25, 2013). "U.S. CFTC lacks successor to chief as new duties loom". Reuters. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
9. Orol, Ronald (June 13, 2013). "Nomination of Senate aide to replace Gensler far from certain: report". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 18, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. "2014 House Race Ratings for August 8, 2014". Cook Political Report. August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
12. Wagner, John (July 3, 2014). "O'Malley plans fundraiser this month with Pelosi to help five congressional candidates". Washington Post. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
13. Ellis, John (July 23, 2014). "Obama recognizes 21st CD hopeful Renteria at Bay Area fundraiser". Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
14. Joseph, Cameron (July 24, 2014). "Overnight Campaign: One step forward, two steps back for GOP". The Hill. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
15. staff, BakersfieldNow.com (September 30, 2014). "Rally, tickets part of VPs visit to Bakersfield".
16. Joseph, Cameron (July 29, 2014). "First Latina Senate chief of staff banks on Hispanic turnout to oust Valadao". The Hill. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
17. Livingston, Abby (October 6, 2014). "DCCC Cuts Airtime in 8 TV Markets". Roll Call. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
18. "U.S. House of Representatives District 21 – Districtwide Results". California General Election Results November 4, 2014. California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on December 14, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
19. "Re: You Dropped but - WikiLeaks".
20. Glueck, Katie (April 12, 2015). "The power players behind Hillary Clinton's campaign: A guide to some of the most influential players in her 2016 presidential bid". Politico. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
21. Goldman, Adam (January 16, 2020). "Justice Dept. Investigating Years-Old Leaks and Appears Focused on Comey". Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
22. Demirjian, Karoun (May 24, 2017). "How a dubious Russian document influenced the FBI's handling of the Clinton probe". Archived from the original on May 24, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
23. "CLINTON EMAIL INVESTIGATION: Full Senate Hearing On DOJ IG Report". YouTube. FOX 10 Phoenix. June 18, 2018.
24. Apuzzo, Matt; Schmidt, Michael; Goldman, Adam; Lichtblau, Eric (April 22, 2017). "Comey Tried to Shield the F.B.I. From Politics. Then He Shaped an Election". Archived from the original on April 15, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
25. Grassley, Chuck (June 22, 2017). "Russian government document" (PDF). Letter to Amanda Renteria.
26. Stephanopoulos, George (April 15, 2018). "Transcript: James Comey's interview with ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos". Archived from the original on April 16, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
27. "LSSC Full Uncut Interview: James Comey". April 17, 2018.
28. "A Review of Various Actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice in Advance of the 2016 Election" (PDF). June 14, 2018.
29. Cadelago, Christopher (February 14, 2018). "Top Clinton aide to run for California governor". Sacramento Bee.
30. "Governor - Statewide Results". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.

External links

• Profile at Vote Smart