Biden Campaign Says Just Over a Third of 2020 Staff Members Are People of Color

Mr. Biden has faced questions about the lack of racial diversity in the uppermost ranks of his campaign, as his inner circle of most trusted advisers — some of whom have had his ear for decades — skews heavily white. His current and former campaign managers are both white, as are four of the people who have served as deputy campaign manager, his three chiefs of staff as vice president (all still influential), and many of his top communications and policy advisers. The Latino and Asian-American political communities have expressed particular concern; Mr. Biden has had greater black representation at the upper levels of his campaign structure.

Last December, Mr. Biden told NPR: “I have the most diverse staff of anybody running. I’ve always done that.” But he refused at the time to provide any evidence that was true. Politico wrote at the time that the rival campaigns of Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders had reported that about 40 percent of their full-time staff members were people of color.

In the general election, Mr. Biden is running against President Trump, who counts virtually no people of color among his most trusted advisers, though his campaign said on Saturday that 25 percent of senior staff members are people of color. The campaign did not provide such a figure for its overall full-time staff, saying that information was not available.

Polls show Mr. Biden dominating Mr. Trump among black voters and leading widely among Latinos.

The Trump campaign also said on Saturday that 52 percent of its full-time staff members, and 56 percent of its senior staff members, are women.

Since Mr. Biden became the presumptive nominee, he has hired several racially diverse people at the top levels, including Karine Jean-Pierre and Julie Chavez Rodriguez as senior advisers, as well as a new chief financial officer and a new senior adviser for financial operations, among others.