Top 75 Political Consultants 2022 - City & State
1. Jefrey Pollock, Jeffrey Plaut & Nick Gourevitch
Founding Partner and President; Founding Partner; Partner and Managing Director, Global Strategy Group
Global Strategy Group has built a reputation as one of the most powerful polling operations in New York state – and beyond. This past year, the firm took on some of the most high-profile state and congressional races, contributing research and polling for a long list of winning campaigns – including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in his primary battle against progressive insurgent state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi and Byron Brown during his untraditional write-in campaign to stay on as Buffalo mayor. The growing firm also has a roster of high-profile clients all across the country and helped Kansans for Constitutional Freedom defeat a closely watched anti-abortion ballot measure earlier this year.
Key clients: Kathy Hochul for governor; Byron Brown for Buffalo mayor; Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee; Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; Pat Ryan, Sean Patrick Maloney, Robert Zimmerman, Francis Conole and Max Rose for Congress; Jeffrey Dinowitz for Assembly; Priorities USA
2. Katie Moore, Matthew Rey & Nathan Smith
Partners, Red Horse Strategies
Following its blockbuster work on Eric Adams' victorious New York City mayoral run in 2021 – including an easy general victory over Curtis Sliwa – Red Horse Strategies brought on the mayor's campaign manager, Katie Moore, as a partner. This cycle, it has kept up its New York focus with a variety of state legislative races. The multifaceted political strategy firm contributed to several progressive incumbents like Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi and state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, who was on the defensive against a more moderate challenger. The team also engineered two Assembly upsets: MaryJane Shimsky ousted Assembly Member Thomas Abinati in Westchester and George Alvarez knocked out Jose Rivera in the Bronx. The firm also brought on Michael DeLoach as vice president for issue advocacy.
Key clients: Kathy Hochul for governor (independent expenditure); Nydia Velazquez for Congress; Gustavo Rivera for state Senate; Jeffrey Dinowitz, George Alvarez, Andrew Hevesi and MaryJane Shimsky for Assembly
3. Valerie Berlin, Alex Navarro-McKay & Isaac Golberg
Principal and Co-Founder; Managing Director; Senior Vice President, BerlinRosen
Originally founded as a two-member shop in 2005, BerlinRosen has since grown to become a prominent player on the national stage. This year, the firm helped secure a key victory for former federal prosecutor Dan Goldman in the highly competitive Democratic primary for the newly created 10th Congressional District. For its work on the race, the firm raked in nearly $2 million in campaign cash from the deep-pocketed candidate. BerlinRosen also contributed to former Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen's pivotal Democratic primary victory in Long Island's 4th Congressional District, which is being vacated by Rep. Kathleen Rice.
Key clients: Dan Goldman, Pat Ryan, Robert Zimmerman and Laura Gillen for Congress; Alex Bores for Assembly
4. Mark Guma
President, Mark Guma Communications
Mark Guma has helped fresh political faces ascend to office and skilled veterans defend their seats. This summer, he worked with long-standing client Rep. Jerry Nadler, helping the House Judiciary Committee chair withstand a high-profile primary battle against fellow incumbent and former Guma client Rep. Carolyn Maloney. He also worked with Assembly Member Erik Dilan and state Sen. Robert Jackson to fend off strong challenges – a shift from 2018, when he assisted insurgents in unseating incumbents who had belonged to the controversial Independent Democratic Conference.
Key clients: Jerry Nadler for Congress; Erik Dilan for Assembly; Robert Jackson for state Senate
5. Amelia Adams & Yvette Buckner
Co-Founders, Adams Buckner Advisors
Two powerhouse consultants who were key to the successes of the 21 in '21 initiative to elect 21 women to the New York City Council joined forces this year to form Adams Buckner Advisors. Co-founder Amelia Adams chaired that initiative – recently rebranded The New Majority NYC – which supported a host of female City Council candidates in the 2021 general election and wildly outperformed its goal, with 31 women elected to the legislative body. Fellow co-founder Yvette Buckner, a former campaign director of Tusk Strategies, also worked on the initiative, in addition to doing campaign work for state Attorney General Letitia James in her bid for reelection.
Key client: 21 in '21
6. Evan Thies & Alexis Grenell
Co-Founders, Pythia Public
Pythia Public's Evan Thies and Alexis Grenell have established themselves as a prominent political force in Albany and New York City in the six years since they co-founded their firm. In 2021, Thies spearheaded communications on the New York City mayoral campaign of Eric Adams, who easily defeated Republican Curtis Sliwa in the general election. They couldn't deliver a win for former state Sen. Todd Kaminsky's district attorney bid, however, as Republicans bounced back on Long Island, but the team notched some notable policy victories in Albany, including passage of the Adult Survivors Act and a state ban on bitcoin mining. The growing firm also hired Port Authority veteran Ben Branham as managing director.
Key clients: Eric Adams for New York City mayor, Todd Kaminsky for Nassau district attorney; Safe Horizon; Seneca Lake Guardian; Common Cause
7. Tucker Green, Max Kramer & Michael Kenney
Founder and President; Partner; Partner, Threshold Group
Known as a top fundraising firm in New York politics, the newly renamed and expanding Threshold Group – formerly Tucker Green & Company and Conscious Voter Contact – has been busy as a campaign consultant for Gov. Kathy Hochul, who won a decisive gubernatorial primary victory in her campaign for a full term. In addition to that statewide race, Threshold Group has also gotten involved in several competitive congressional races. The firm helped Democrat Laura Gillen win a four-way congressional primary to take over the Democratic-leaning seat from retiring Rep. Kathleen Rice in Nassau County, and it was one of a number of consultants playing a role in Rep. Pat Ryan's attention-grabbing special election victory in the Hudson Valley.
Key clients: Kathy Hochul for governor; Laura Gillen and Pat Ryan for Congress; New York League of Conservation Voters PAC
8. Spencer Lee, Madeleine Lohr & Joe Reubens
Managing Director; Senior Associate for Data Analytics; Partner, The Parkside Group
A mainstay consulting group in the state Legislature, The Parkside Group's claim to fame rests on its work as the principal strategist for the state Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, which helped the conference win a majority in 2018 and a supermajority of seats in 2020. The firm built on that work this past year, helping Democratic state Sens. Joe Addabbo and Andrew Gounardes fend off primary challengers. The firm has provided polling, targeting, mail, TV and digital advertising to many other candidates and organizations at the local, state and federal levels.
Key clients: Andrew Gounardes and Joe Addabbo for state Senate
9. John & Jim McLaughlin
CEO and Partner; President and Partner, McLaughlin & Associates
Conservative consulting firm McLaughlin & Associates helped Republicans Bruce Blakeman and Anne Donnelly harness the conservative bounce in New York's 2021 municipal elections and topple their Democratic opponents in the general election for Nassau County executive and district attorney, respectively. Since then, the firm has set its sights on the governorship, conducting polling for Rep. Lee Zeldin in his contested primary campaign against Andrew Giuliani. Though nothing this year rises to the scale of having former President Donald Trump as a client in 2020, a handful of key Republican campaigns have provided big opportunities to partners John and Jim McLaughlin.
Key clients: Lee Zeldin for governor; Bruce Blakeman for Nassau County executive; Anne Donnelly for Nassau County district attorney; National Republican Congressional Committee
10. Mike Morey & Pia Carusone
Partner; Managing Director, SKDK
SKDK lived up to its prestigious New York reputation with a list of successful campaigns this summer. Coming off its work for the 2020 Biden presidential campaign, the firm staffed by political veterans took on several big midterm contracts this cycle, working with House primary winners Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney and Josh Riley in the Hudson Valley and Robert Zimmerman on Long Island. The bicoastal political consulting firm company, which is now part of The Stagwell Group, has New York offices in Manhattan and Albany. It reported producing 27 ads so far this year. The firm also brought on government affairs veteran Marissa Shorenstein, while Doug Thornell, partner and head of the firm's political department, is stepping into the role of CEO in January, while Josh Isay transitions to a new role as senior counsel.
Key clients: Sean Patrick Maloney, Josh Riley, Matt Castelli and Robert Zimmerman for Congress
11. Richard Fife
Owner, RJF Communications
Communications and political strategist Richard Fife kept up his long track record of delivering in competitive races, most notably helping to lead Dan Goldman's come-from-behind victory in a closely watched Democratic congressional primary. He also helped two politicians in Harlem to victory during contested state Senate races. Fife helped Cordell Cleare win a special election for a state Senate seat, then led state Sen. Robert Jackson to victory against a Rep. Adriano Espaillat-backed challenger. Last year, he followed up on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's primary win to help him clinch the general election.
Key clients: Dan Goldman for Congress; Robert Jackson and Cordell Cleare for state Senate
12. Luis Miranda Jr., Roberto Ramirez & Katharine Pichardo-Erskine
Founding Partner; Founding Partner; President, Hamilton Campaign Network
Though the Hamilton Campaign Network did not get to support a gubernatorial run by state Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime client, after she abruptly decided against it, this MirRam subsidiary group garnered some success in several key state races this summer. One of its bigger clients, Assembly Member Michael Benedetto, fended off a challenge from an insurgent endorsed by the Working Families Party and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It also helped Bronx Democrat Nathalia Fernandez take over the state Senate seat vacated by Alessandra Biaggi, who ran for Congress.
Key clients: Adriano Espaillat, Hakeem Jeffries and Vedat Gashi for Congress; Nathalia Fernandez for state Senate; Michael Benedetto for Assembly
13. Tyquana Henderson-Rivers, Lashea Woodson & Leslie Patterson
President; Director of Operations; Senior Account Executive, Connective Strategies
Founded in 2008 by Tyquana Henderson-Rivers, Connective Strategies is an advocacy and political campaign firm led by Black women. The firm, which also brought on the Rev. Stephan Marshall as vice president recently, has picked up off the success of the Queens Countywide campaigns of District Attorney Melinda Katz and Borough President Donovan Richards, expanding its focus both locally and statewide. The firm is providing consulting services to Gov. Kathy Hochul as she aims to remain in the governor's mansion and also assisted the efforts of veteran Assembly Members Inez Dickens, Jeffrion Aubry and Vivian Cook to fend off Democratic primary challengers this past cycle.
Key clients: Kathy Hochul for governor; Jeffrion Aubry, Inez Dickens and Vivian Cook for Assembly
14. Meredith Kelly, AJ Lenar & Trey Nix
Partners and Co-Owners, Declaration Media
In the nearly two years since its founding, Declaration Media has built its reputation as a leading national advertising firm that caters to Democratic candidates and causes. The company, created by Meredith Kelly, AJ Lenar and Trey Nix, picked up Gov. Kathy Hochul as a client last year and has gone on to frame a media and messaging campaign that focuses, among other things, on her record of pushing for gun regulations. Declaration has been keyed into New York politics through one of its founders, Kelly, who previously provided communications services to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's 2020 presidential campaign.
Key client: Kathy Hochul for governor
15. Lupé Todd-Medina
President, Effective Media Strategies
Effective Media is a boutique communications public relations firm that has had a high-profile list of clients ranging from Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to Gov. Kathy Hochul. Lupé Todd-Medina specializes in making difficult issues relatable to diverse audiences. Her work took her across New York this past year, including advising Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown on his successful write-in campaign, Hochul on her gubernatorial race and Upper Manhattan legislators Cordell Cleare for state Senate and Inez Dickens for Assembly.
Key clients: Kathy Hochul for governor; Byron Brown for Buffalo mayor; Cordell Cleare for state Senate; Inez Dickens for Assembly
Editor's note: Lupé Todd-Medina is a member of City & State's advisory board.
16. Luke Hayes
Campaign Manager, Jamaal Bowman for Congress
The brother of MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes, Luke Hayes has accrued his own sphere of New York political influence in his decade-plus experience of campaign management. This summer, he returned to the campaign trail in his home borough to help Rep. Jamaal Bowman hold on to his Bronx seat after working to get him elected in 2020. Bowman's primary victory follows a series of strong showings from Hayes' political circle, which includes Tiffany Cabán in her run for Queens district attorney and Alessandra Biaggi in her run for state Senate.
Key client: Jamaal Bowman for Congress
17. Rebecca Katz & Camille Rivera
Founding Partner; Partner, New Deal Strategies
After delivering progressive victories for New York City Council Members Sandy Nurse and Tiffany Cabán in 2021, New Deal Strategies snapped into action in the 2021 legislative primary to help secure the reelection of state Sen. Gustavo Rivera and elect Nathalia Fernandez to state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi's Bronx seat. In the three years since Rebecca Katz and Camille Rivera co-founded the firm, it has continued to produce progressive electoral victories for its clients.
Key clients: Gustavo Rivera and Nathalia Fernandez for state Senate
18. William Deegan & Brendan Klein
Partners, North Shore Strategies
With a focus on Democratic and progressive campaigns, William Deegan and Brendan Klein's firm took on a long list of candidates this year with an impressive success rate. Most notably, the team helped Max Rose win the Democratic primary for Staten Island's House seat. North Shore's 2022 roster also includes Assembly candidates Nikki Lucas and Jeffrey Dinowitz – incumbents who successfully fought for reelection – and Grace Lee, who's set to succeed Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou, and Juan Ardila, a Working Families Party-endorsed progressive who won the seat opened by Assembly Member Cathy Nolan's retirement.
Key clients: Max Rose, Jo Anne Simon and Vedat Gashi for Congress; Andrew Gounardes and Jessica Scarcella-Spanton for state Senate; Jeffrey Dinowitz, Grace Lee, Juan Ardila and Nikki Lucas for Assembly; Tony Avella for New York City Council
19. Bill Hyers
Partner and Managing Director, The Win Company
The Win Company, a political media company, set its sights on the governor's mansion this past cycle via a big contract with the Hochul campaign. The Win Company Partner and Managing Director Bill Hyers came to the company fresh off his long shot victory as a campaign manager for Bill de Blasio's first New York City mayoral campaign. Since then, he's worked on campaigns supporting Buffalo mayoral candidate India Walton, state Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones.
Key clients: Kathy Hochul for governor; India Walton for Buffalo mayor
20. Trip Yang & Albert Suh
Founder and President; Vice President, Trip Yang Strategies
After working on political campaigns for nearly a decade, Trip Yang started his own political consulting business in September 2019. He has booked a full roster of big-name municipal clients, ranging from Shekar Krishnan for New York City Council to Jumaane Williams for New York City public advocate and Vanessa Gibson for Bronx borough president. In the 2022 state legislative primaries, he helped catapult Grace Lee into the lead in the race to take Yuh-Line Niou's vacated Assembly seat and worked with Cordell Cleare to defend her state Senate seat. Albert Suh joined Trip Yang Strategies in the past year and contributed to their recent political work.
Key clients: Dan Goldman and Max Rose for Congress; Jumaane Williams for governor; Cordell Cleare for state Senate; Grace Lee, Steven Raga, Al Taylor and Anthony Andrews for Assembly; Gale Brewer for New York City Council speaker
Editor's note: Trip Yang is a member of City & State's advisory board.
21. Scott Levenson, Sebastian Levenson & Ana Rodrigues
President; Senior Vice President, Client Relations; Design Director, The Advance Group
Advance Group founder Scott Levenson came out of labor and community organizing in the 1980s to form the firm over three decades ago. Since helping Vanessa Gibson and Donovan Richards win their respective borough president races in 2020, the company has been involved in several city and state legislative races over the past year, assisting in Democrat Jessica Scarcella-Spanton's win in a competitive primary for state Sen. Diane Savino's seat and Kenneth Chiu, who narrowly lost a Democratic primary to Ron Kim for Assembly District 40.
Key clients: Jessica Scarcella-Spanton for state Senate; Kenneth Chiu for Assembly; Ari Kagan and Kamillah Hanks for New York City Council
22. Jeff Guillot & Alex Voetsch
Partners, Millennial Strategies
Millennial Strategies' approach to messaging involves cultivating the "personal touch" that might attract voters looking for relatability in their political candidates. This year, their style of campaigning helped Tony Simone win the Democratic primary for outgoing Assembly Member Richard Gottfried's Manhattan seat. Partners Jeffrey Guillot and Alex Voetsch have worked with a range of New York campaigns in recent years, including Jumaane Williams for New York City public advocate and the No IDC NY campaign, which unseated six of the eight former Independent Democratic Conference members.
Key clients: Tony Simone for Assembly; Angel Vasquez for state Senate; Suraj Patel for Congress; United Federation of Teachers; Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic; The Nature Conservancy; New York League of Conservation Voters; Eleanor's Legacy Action Fund; New York Women Lead; A Better New York for All
23. Ed Peavy, Peter Jones & Ellen Foster
Founding Partner; Partner; Senior Strategist, Mission Control
A national firm that specializes in creative persuasion direct mail for Democratic campaigns,
Mission Control has deep roots in New York. This state legislative cycle, it continued its work with statewide organizations like Laborers Building a Better New York, the state Democratic Committee and Gov. Kathy Hochul's reelection campaign. Mission Control also worked directly on the winning legislative primary campaign of Monica Martinez, who beat out Assembly Member Phil Ramos in her state Senate comeback bid on Long Island, and propelled Democratic Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon to a reelection victory in the face of a resurgent Republican Party in the region.
Key clients: Kathy Hochul for governor; Sean Patrick Maloney, Jackie Gordon, Josh Riley and Bridget Fleming for Congress; Monica Martinez and Elizabeth Crowley for state Senate; Errol Toulon for Suffolk County sheriff; Laborers Building a Better New York; New York State Democratic Committee
24. Tulchin Research
Ben Tulchin & Ben Krompak, President and Founder; Vice President, Tulchin Research
Tulchin Research, a firm with an extensive history conducting surveys for New York political institutions, made a big impact in 2021 with its polling for Eric Adams' New York City mayoral campaign. It then worked with Zephyr Teachout on her short-lived campaign to succeed Letitia James as state attorney general during the brief period when James was exploring a run for governor. The firm also worked with New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany, a charter school advocacy PAC, and recently hired Kelsey Bullis as an analyst.
Key clients: Eric Adams for New York City mayor; Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany
25. Vito Pitta
Co-Managing Partner, Pitta LLP
Vito Pitta made the political consultant list last year after reporting surfaced that he had provided substantial political advice to Eric Adams during his successful New York City mayoral campaign. In the 2022 election cycle, Pitta continued his political track record by contracting with the Committee for a Fair New York PAC, which supported 10 Assembly candidates in New York City – all of whom were facing progressive opponents.
Key clients: Eric Adams for New York City mayor; Committee for a Fair New York
26. Jake Dilemani
Partner, Mercury
Renaissance Campaigns, a branch of the broader Mercury government consulting organization, took on two neck and neck Assembly primary contests this past year and helped lead both candidates to victory. Led by Mercury Partner Jake Dilemani, the team assisted Eddie Gibbs, who won a special election to become the first state legislator to be elected after serving time in prison and then ran a victorious campaign in the primary for Assembly District 68. Mercury also worked on Ron Kim's tight Assembly primary race against a more conservative, public safety-focused opponent. Among the members of the experienced campaign team at Mercury are Jon Reinish, Greg Lavine, Greg Drilling, Jill Wieck, Carolyn Riggs and Aaron Siegel.
Key clients: Catherine Parker for Congress; Elizabeth Crowley for state Senate; Ron Kim, Eddie Gibbs and Russell Squire for Assembly; Nassau County Democratic Committee; Environmental Defense Fund; Show Up Turn Out
27. Neal Kwatra
CEO and Founder, Metropolitan Public Strategies
Coming off of a campaign for Hotel and Gaming Trades Council campaign to support then-New York City mayoral candidate Eric Adams and several New York City Council candidates in 2021, Metropolitan Public Strategies transitioned into advocacy for several other causes in 2022. The firm, founded by Neal Kwatra, worked for New Yorkers for Responsible Gaming to successfully push for language in the state budget allowing for downstate casino expansion. Kwatra also contracted with the Carpenters Union to support Gov. Kathy Hochul and five state legislative races, and is working with the international wind energy company Ørsted on a new RFP for a major wind energy development project off New York's Atlantic coast.
Key clients: Resorts World; Orsted; Westfield; Bally's; Maimonides Hospital; Haussmann Development; Witkoff Group
28. Jenny Sedlis, Jason Ortiz & Jennifer Fermino
Co-Founder and CEO; Co-Founder and CEO; Managing Director of Communications, Moonshot Strategies
Moonshot Strategies is a new consulting and government relations firm created by Jenny Sedlis and Jason Ortiz, who decided to co-found the firm after collaborating on the PAC that raised over $6 million for Eric Adams' New York City mayoral bid. Ortiz was previously the director of political and strategic affairs for the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, and Sedlis served as executive director of a charter school advocacy group, which connected them to New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany, a PAC that supports the charter school movement. The firm, which helped the Human Services Council secure a cost-of-living adjustment for nonprofit staffers, has also added Mitch Schwartz, Elana Leopold, Kelly Taylor and Jason Laidley to its growing team.
Key clients: New York Hotel and Gaming Trades Council; StudentsFirstNY; Innocence Project; Vera Institute of Justice; Mets owner Steve Cohen; NYCLASS; Human Services Council
29. Patrick B. Jenkins
President, Patrick B. Jenkins & Associates
For decades, Patrick B. Jenkins has built a reputation as an influential Albany lobbyist, but this man of many hats also advises election campaigns. In addition to his longtime friendship with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie – a former college roommate – Jenkins is also Heastie's campaign consultant. This year, in addition to his work for Heastie, Jenkins advised Assembly Member Vivian Cook on her successful bid to fight off a challenger to her Southeast Queens seat.
Key clients: Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie; Assembly Members Vivian Cook and Jeffrion Aubry
30. Evan Roth Smith, Sam Haass & Alyssa Cass
Partners, Slingshot Strategies
Slingshot Strategies is a small communications and polling firm that conducts political and advocacy campaigns focused on boos...
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