[Briefing Material August 15-31, 1981]

This series contains personal records of Mitchell's political activities from 1980 to 1994. Files include briefing books, scheduling information, correspondence, memoranda, and listings. The volume of files increases at peaks of election cycles.

Boxes 76 to 80 contain briefing material and planning documents for election debates and events in Maine plus correspondence, memoranda, listings, and tally sheets concerning Mitchell's 1982 Senate election and Democratic campaigns for Maine state elections. These files were generally created between 1980 and 1984.

Boxes 81 to 85 contain files concerning Mitchell's work as Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman during 1985 and 1986. The bulk of the files involves aspects of the fundraising process: issue research; communication strategies; emergency funds to candidates; scheduling of events; memos and correspondence discussing the identification of crucial Senate races and earmarking of funds to those races; listings of major contributors, supporters, and organizers; communications with other fundraising Democrats; and overall strategies for gaining control of the Senate. They also include detailed records of money raised and spent by the campaign committee, such as filings with the Federal Election Commission. While files are generally arranged chronologically, some are arranged by senator and some by state.

Boxes 85 to 89 contain scheduling information and correspondence about fundraising events. These records were generally produced between 1990 and 1994 when Mitchell served as Senate majority leader. During the gap between the 1986 general election when he stepped down as Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman and 1990, the first election year that Mitchell was majority leader, there is a corresponding lull in his political files.

Boxes 89 to 91 are arranged strictly chronologically and contain briefing material for events occurring between 1990 and 1994. Background information on legislative initiatives and issues is interspersed throughout this subseries. Contains correspondence between notable Democratic figures such as Robert Byrd, Thomas Daschle, and Walter Mondale.