The man who orchestrated Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed's campaign has been tapped to help President Barack Obama win the South in 2012.

A spokesman for Obama for America says Tharon Johnson has joined the campaign as the southern regional director and will be "a key part to building the organization" in the area.

Obama did not win Georgia in 2008, and the only southern states he did win were Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.

Johnson, who ran Reed's 2009 campaign and later served as his senior adviser, also spearheaded campaigns for former Georgia Labor Commissioner Mike Thurmond and U.S. Reps. John Barrow and John Lewis. He later worked for both congressmen. He now works as a lobbyist at McKenna Long and Aldredge.

Tags: Georgia, Atlanta, politics, election, campaign, Barack Obama, Kasim Reed, Tharon Johnson