Timothy E. Kraft ’63

Timothy E. Kraft ’63, who managed the Iowa caucus campaign that played a pivotal role in Jimmy Carter’s successful presidential run, passed away on January 21. He attended the Kentucky Military Academy, where he was valedictorian and editor of the yearbook and participated in glee club and cross country. He majored in government at Dartmouth, was president of the Young Democrats, and was a brother of Gamma Delta. During graduate studies at Georgetown he joined the newly formed Peace Corps, trained at Las Cruces, New Mexico, and spent two years in Guatemala. He was fluent in Spanish and, after traveling in South America, joined the Peace Corps as a recruiter. His first political job was for Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.) followed by a job with the Foreign Press Services at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Tim moved to New Mexico in 1970 and persuaded the Democratic Party to hire him as executive director and he served from 1970 to 1974. He was then introduced to Gov. Jimmy Carter, who hired him as his Iowa caucus campaign manager. An unexpectedly strong showing propelled Carter into the spotlight and Tim then served as national field director for the Carter-Mondale ticket. During the Carter presidency, Tim served as appointments secretary and assistant to the president for personnel and political coordination. He met his future wife, Molly, who worked in the White House, at that time. Later, the family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Tim started Avanti Consulting. He is survived by Molly, a son, and two grandchildren.