David Plouffe (pronounced /plʌf/, born 1967 ) is an American political strategist best known as the chief campaign manager for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign in the United States. A long-time Democratic Party campaign consultant, he is a partner at the party-aligned campaign consulting firm AKP&D Message and Media, which he joined in 2000.

Plouffe was raised in Wilmington, Delaware and attended St. Mark's High School. He was a political science major at the University of Delaware, attending from fall 1985 through fall 1988. He did not complete his education before he set out on a career in politics.

Plouffe began his political career when he went to work for Senator Tom Harkin's 1990 re-election campaign. He later worked as a state field director for Harkin's unsuccessful 1992 Presidential campaign for which he was paid $30,000 per month. In the same year he successfully managed Congressman John Olver's first re-election bid in Western Massachusetts. In 1994 Plouffe managed Delaware Attorney General Charles M. Oberly's unsuccessful campaign against Senator William V. Roth. He then worked as campaign director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 1995. In 1996 Plouffe managed Bob Torricelli's successful campaign to fill Bill Bradley's New Jersey seat in the United States Senate and was paid over $200,000.