Close to the candidate

The Kerry brain trust

Mary Beth Cahill

Age: 50

Sen. John F. Kerry’s campaign manager left her post as chief of staff for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) to join up with the junior Massachusetts senator in November. Observers credit her no-nonsense style and organizational skills for quieting internal backbiting. Cahill also headed EMILY’s List, an organization that supports women running for office.

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Mark Mellman

Age: 48

The longtime pollster’s current and former client list is a Who’s Who of Democratic politics, including Sens. Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Barbara Boxer of California. While aides say Kerry himself never asks to see polls, Mellman works closely with campaign leaders to craft strategy and message.

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Bob Shrum

Age: 61

A speechwriter and former Al Gore advisor, Shrum is renowned inside the Beltway as the message guru most in demand by Democrats. He has taken the helm in several successful Senate campaigns but in no winning presidential bids. Besides shaping Kerry’s rhetoric, he and his partners at Shrum, Devine & Donilon, a media consulting firm, spearhead the candidate’s television advertising strategy.

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The confidants

Cameron Kerry

Age: 53

Kerry’s younger brother has had a major hand in all the Massachusetts senator’s campaigns and offers advice on most political matters. The Boston attorney speaks frequently on his brother’s behalf to audiences including Jewish community groups. (The younger Kerry converted to Judaism in 1983, when he married a Jewish woman.)

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David Thorne

Age: 59

Ever since they were members of the secret Yale society Skull and Bones, Kerry and Thorne -- then a Republican -- have been fast friends. They remained so even after Kerry’s marriage to Thorne’s twin sister, Julia, ended in the 1980s. The Boston publisher works as a grass-roots fundraiser for Kerry.

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Out front

Stephanie Cutter

Age: 35

The campaign’s communications director held the same post for Sen. Kennedy before joining Kerry’s operation. She is involved in every aspect of communications strategy. Cutter previously was a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, and is a veteran of the Clinton White House.

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Tad Devine

Age: 49

The campaign’s senior advisor is another principal from media firm Shrum, Devine & Donilon. The former Gore strategist is the most visible spokesman for the campaign’s long-term strategy, which he helps craft with Shrum. Devine aided the presidential campaigns of former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis and former Vice President Walter F. Mondale.

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David Wade

Age: 28

Kerry’s traveling press secretary started working as the senator’s speechwriter seven years ago. Among the campaign staff, he knows the candidate and his record best, and is usually at his side. Before going to work for Kerry, Wade served as president of College Democrats of America.

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Compiled by Times staff researcher Susannah Rosenblatt