Mark Mellman
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Mark Mellman is an American pollster and political consultant. He is the founder of The Mellman Group, a polling and opinion research firm. In 2019, he formed the Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI), a Democratic Party-aligned organization that supports pro-
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
candidates. Mellman formerly served as president of the
American Association of Political Consultants The American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) is the trade group for the political consulting profession in the United States. Founded in 1969, it is the world's largest organization of political consultants, public affairs professi ...
.


Education

Mellman graduated from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, graduating in 1978. He later attended
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
to pursue his graduate studies.


Career

While at Yale in 1981, Mellman was hired by
Bruce Morrison Bruce Andrew Morrison (born October 8, 1944) is an American attorney, lobbyist and Democratic Party politician who represented Connecticut in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991. In 1990, he was the unsuccessful Democr ...
, a candidate for
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
's 3rd congressional district in the 1982 election; though Morrison was considered an underdog candidate at the time of the election, he ultimately won the race by a narrow margin. Following this, Mellman formed Information Associates in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
; in 1986, the group was incorporated as The Mellman Group. In
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
,
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
's
presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...
was an early Mellman Group client, a race Kerry ultimately lost. Speaking after the election, Mellman says he foresaw the outcome of the Swiftboat campaign against Kerry. As the campaign grew, with advertising and coverage heavy on right-wing media such as Fox News and the Drudge Report, Mellman says he saw in the polls a tide turning against Kerry. As of 2016, Mellman was president of the
American Association of Political Consultants The American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) is the trade group for the political consulting profession in the United States. Founded in 1969, it is the world's largest organization of political consultants, public affairs professi ...
. In January 2019, Mellman and other Democratic strategists started Democratic Majority for Israel, a group whose mission is to promote pro-Israel candidates among Democrats, especially in primary elections. Mellman regularly participates in
AIPAC The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. It is one of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the ...
conferences, for example speaking at a 2019 AIPAC event in Columbus alongside
Neil Newhouse Neil Newhouse is an American pollster. He is the co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, a political survey and polling firm, and was the lead pollster for the unsuccessful presidential campaigns of both John McCain and Mitt Romney against Barack ...
and working directly for AIPAC in the past. In 2015, Mellman consulted for a $25 million advertising campaign for the AIPAC-funded group Nuclear Free Iran. Based on the premise that increased exposure to details of the deal would lead most Americans to oppose it, Mellman's campaign recommendations aimed to disrupt the
Iran nuclear agreement The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; (, BARJAM)), also known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an History and culture of negotiation in Iran, agreement to limit the nuclear program of Iran, Iranian nuclear program in return f ...
by increasing public skepticism. Mellman's firm received a quarter million dollars for its work. Mellman has consulted for other Jewish and pro-Israel organizations as well. Since
Yair Lapid Yair Lapid ( ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician of the centrist Yesh Atid party and a former journalist who has been the Leader of the Opposition (Israel), Leader of the Opposition since January 2023, having previously served in t ...
entered politics, Mellman acted as a senior strategist for him. He describes his relationship Lapid and
Yesh Atid Yesh Atid (, ) is a centrist political party in Israel. It was founded in 2012 by former TV journalist Yair Lapid, the son of the former Shinui party politician and Israeli Justice Minister Tommy Lapid. In 2013 the first election it conte ...
as differing from his other clients. He notes that this relationship goes back very far, with Mellman helping decide the name of the party.


Political views

In 2013, Mellman commented on increasing sympathy for Palestinian over Israelis among Democrats according to polling data. Mellman argued that this shift remained small, but suggested handling the issue while it remained minor. He said the best way to do so would be by appealing to specific communities through their own angles, such as
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
issues, immigration, and health care access, while at the same time confronting the Israel issue head on. In late 2019, Mellman commented on a speech by Senator and Democratic Party presidential candidate
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
to the liberal Jewish group
J Street J Street () is a nonprofit liberal Zionist advocacy and lobby group based in the United States whose aims include strengthening Jewish democracy in Israel, promoting a diplomatic end to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict with a two-state ...
. Mellman opposed Sanders' suggestion that he would use the $3.8 billion in US aid to Israel as leverage to promote humanitarian policies in the Gaza strip. Mellman suggested that "any aid cuts to Israel is not supported by the majority of Democrats" and that "the considerable support Sanders received for this position at the J Street event does not represent a majority of the Jewish community." In 2010, Mellman suggested that
Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...
tended to be the most heavily stacked against Democratic candidates in elections. Mellman opposed Sanders' run for president, supported
Eliot Engel Eliot Lance Engel (; born February 18, 1947) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from New York from 1989 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented a district covering portions of the north Bronx and ...
's run for a New York congressional seat against successful challenger
Jamaal Bowman Jamaal Anthony Bowman (born April 1, 1976) is an American former politician and former educator who served from 2021 to 2025 as the United States representative for New York's 16th congressional district. Bowman is the founder and former princi ...
, and opposes
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's ...
tactics against Israel.


Personal details

Mellman is an active member of the Modern Orthodox synagogue Kesher Israel in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellman, Mark American Jews American founders American Zionists American political consultants Living people Pollsters Year of birth missing (living people) Yale University alumni Princeton University alumni