Gov. Tony Evers appoints campaign manager, effectively announcing his re-election bid for 2022 governor's race

MADISON - Democratic Gov. Tony Evers effectively launched his re-election bid Wednesday by announcing his campaign team.

Evers for months has signaled he will seek a second term and inched closer to making it official Wednesday by saying Cassi Fenili would serve as his campaign manager.

Fenili was his deputy campaign manager in 2018 when he defeated Republican Gov. Scott Walker. Fenili worked for the first half of 2019 in the governor's office as Evers' appointments director and then took on roles as an adviser to Evers' campaign and the state Democratic Party. 

Evers is ramping up his campaign as several Republicans — including former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and lobbyist Bill McCoshen — consider runs against him.

Evers' had $3.4 million in his campaign account at the end of last year, according to his most recent campaign finance filing.

Filling out Evers' campaign team are: 

• Finance Director Haley Barbour, who served in the same role for Barbara Bollier, a U.S. Senate candidate in Kansas. She also served as the Iowa political director for U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand during her 2020 presidential run. 
• Strategic Initiatives Director Atanu Chakravarty, a former media and research director for an arm of the Democratic Governors Association.
• Communications Director Sam Roecker, who last year worked on Wisconsin legislative campaigns and Jill Karofsky's successful bid for a seat on the state Supreme Court. He also served as the Iowa campaign manager for John Hickenlooper's presidential run. 

Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.