Hillary Clinton campaign hires Mahen Gunaratna as Florida press secretary

With less than two months before the state’s primary, Hillary Clinton is staffing up in Florida.

The campaign has hired Mahen Gunaratna as the campaign’s Florida press secretary. The announcement comes as the campaign begins to ramp up for the March 15 presidential preference primary.

Gunaratna is no stranger to Florida. He served as U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson’s communications director, and before that as U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek’s press secretary. He also was research director for Meek’s 2010 U.S. Senate campaign.

In 2012, Gunaratna was New Mexico/Arizona communications director for President Barack Obama’s re-election bid. Most recently, he was research director for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, first on his campaign before going to work for de Blasio at City Hall.