Mark Mellman on Four Decades in Polling

01/17/23 • 43 min

For nearly 40 years, Mark Mellman has been an industry leader in Democratic polling. In this conversation, he talks the serendipitous start of his consulting firm, stories from his iconic clients Al Gore, John Glenn, and Harry Reid, and lessons as lead pollster from John Kerry's '04 Presidential campaign. Mark also talks his founding of Democratic Majority for Israel and the work DMFI is doing to help mold the Democratic Party and shape American policy toward Israel.

IN THIS EPISODE....

Mark talks his roots in a politically interested family in the Columbus, OH area...

The serendipitous phone call while at Yale that gave Mark the opportunity to become a pollster...

The 1982 House upset that kicked off Mark’s consulting career....

How Mark grew his new firm in the 1980s among the established “Big 3” Democratic pollsters...

Mark compares the polling process of his early days to the current approach...

Mark shares stories of some his iconic clients, including Al Gore, Harry Reid, John Glenn, and Steny Hoyer...

Mark on the good and bad as lead pollster from Kerry’ 04 vs George W. Bush...

What led Mark to found Democratic Majority for Israel...

Mark gets under the hood of the Nina Turner vs Shontel Brown special election primary & the role of DMFI...

Mark’s 101 on how Israeli politics work...

Mark on what makes a good pollster...

AND Yasser Arafat, Atari Democrats, Joe Biden, Pat Caddell, Jimmy Carter, Hillary Clinton, Congressional Quarterly, Tom Daschle, Doak Shrum & Donilon, dominant troikas, Elizabeth Drew, Carter Eskew, giant hypodermic needles, John Gilligan, Bill Hamilton, Kamala Harris, Peter Hart, IBM cards, institutionalists, Yair Lapid, Carl Levin, long-haired college students, Joe McCarthy, Meretz, Walter Mondale, Bruce Morrison, Benjamin Netanyahu, Newsweek, Barack Obama, Ohio State University, the Oslo Agreement, Reaganomics, regression analysis, Bernie Sanders, sine qua non, Adlai Stevenson, Bob Squier, Swift Boat Veterans, Harry Truman, UW-Oshkosh, the UK Labour Party, unknown legal aid lawyers, Tim Wirth, Dick Wirthlin & more!

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IN THIS EPISODE....

Mark talks his roots in a politically interested family in the Columbus, OH area...

The serendipitous phone call while at Yale that gave Mark the opportunity to become a pollster...

The 1982 House upset that kicked off Mark’s consulting career....

How Mark grew his new firm in the 1980s among the established “Big 3” Democratic pollsters...

Mark compares the polling process of his early days to the current approach...

Mark shares stories of some his iconic clients, including Al Gore, Harry Reid, John Glenn, and Steny Hoyer...

Mark on the good and bad as lead pollster from Kerry’ 04 vs George W. Bush...

What led Mark to found Democratic Majority for Israel...

Mark gets under the hood of the Nina Turner vs Shontel Brown special election primary & the role of DMFI...

Mark’s 101 on how Israeli politics work...

Mark on what makes a good pollster...

Previous Episode

Liam Donovan On the Fall & Rise of Speaker McCarthy, What to Expect in the 118th Congress, & Trump vs DeSantis '24

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Liam Donovan, a principal at Bracewell PRG, is a regular presence on cable news, in print, and on twitter as an expert explainer of what's going on in Congress and in the Republican Party. With a background both in GOP campaign politics and government relations, Liam's expertise on the intersection of politics and policy gives him tremendous insight to distill what really matters in Washington from the rest of the Beltway din. In this conversation, we talk Liam's path to politics, his time in GOP campaigns, his shift to government relations, and get his insights into the chaos of last week's (eventual) ascent of Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker...what to expect from Congress over the next two years...and his early takes on Trump vs. DeSantis '24 & the future of the Republican Party.

IN THIS EPISODE

Liam’s upbringing as a Navy Brat who went to high school in DC...

Liam’s stint working in GOP politics and at the NRSC...

The iconic GOP Senator Liam served as an aide to at the Senate committee...

Liam’s shift to government relations and lobbying...

Liam’s initial take on the chaotic House GOP process to anoint Kevin McCarthy as Speaker...

Liam on why it was probably inevitable for McCarthy to cave to the hard-right members...

Liam unpacks how McCarthy peeled off the different factions to earn the Speaker’s gavel...

Why the GOP center-right members never wavered for McCarthy...

Liam on why there was never a real chance of a few Republicans working with Democrats to elect a coalition Speaker...

Liam's thoughts on the risk McCarthy could be deposed mid-term...

The Trump impact on the Speaker’s race and the Trump-McCarthy relationship...

Liam analyzes the CLF / Freedom Caucus “truce”...

Liam’s insight on what to expect on the debt ceiling...

Liam’s early handicapping of Trump vs DeSantis 2024...

The origin story of Liam’s unusual twitter profile photo...

Liam shouts out one of his favorite twitter accounts...

AND AOL IM, almost congresspersons, Justin Amash, beating the previous question, Bill Bennett, Joe Biden, Lauren Boebert, John Boehner, John Bolton, Bracewell PRG, Scott Brown, Al Bundy, Alex Burns, George W. Bush, the CLF, Liz Cheney, Chris Christie, John Cornyn, Tom Cotton, Eli Crane, Ted Cruz, determined rumps, David Dewhurst, discharge petitions, Empower America, John Ensign, Al Franken, the Freedom Caucus, frozen budgets, Matt Gaetz, Georgetown, getting your teeth kicked in, Bob Good, Al Gore, Maggie Haberman, Nikki Haley, Andy Harris, Orrin Hatch, hot mic moments, Amo Houghton, Wesley Hunt, Hakeem Jeffries, Jim Jordan, Jack Kemp, kissing the ring, Mike Lee, letter-writing campaigns, Morgan Luttrell, Joe Manchin, Mar-a-Lago, Jonathan Martin, max-out donors, Ted McGinley, Mark Meadows, the meaty middle, Mitch McConnell, Tim Miller, non-privileged motions, Nancy Pelosi, Scott Peters, Scott Perry, Politico Pro, Mike Pompeo, the precipice of failure, Punchbowl, Ringwiss, Mike Rogers, Chip Roy, Paul Ryan, Rick Santelli, Pete Sessions, shoe-leather lobbying, shooting down the rule, the side of chaos, Aaron Sorkin, Arlen Specter, the Sword of Damocles, Marjorie Taylor Greene, turning the screws, the Trevor Project, Truth Social, trust deficits, the Uniparty, Fred Upton, West Wing story arcs & more!

Next Episode

Congressman David Price on a Lifetime in Politics

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Congressman David Price served 34 years representing North Carolina's Research Triangle, leaving the House just this January. Beyond his time as an institution in the House, he's lived a remarkable political life...present on the Washington Mall during the MLK "I Have A Dream" speech...a Senate staffer witnessing key civil rights votes in the mid 1960s...a leading political scientist at Duke University...a Democratic Party leader who helped devise the primary reforms now known as "super delegates"...and an influential House member who's served across parts of five decades in the House and been a witness to - and a part of - some of the most important political moments of the past half century.

IN THIS EPISODE...

Growing up in the unique political culture of small-town East Tennessee...

The Civil Rights Movement inspires an awakening for public service...

Memories of being on The Mall during the March on Washington and the MLK "I Have A Dream" Speech...

His time as a Senate staffer during the critical 1964 vote to break the filibuster on civil rights...

How he merged teaching Political Science at Duke with activity in real-world politics...

His time in state party leadership and as part of The Hunt Commission reforming the Democratic Presidential Primary process...

The political skill and legacy of North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt...

North Carolina's legacy as a progressive Southern state...

Remembering the 1984 Senate "race of the century" of Jesse Helms vs. Jim Hunt...

His path to running and winning his first race for Congress in 1986...

Memories of his first few terms in the House...

The story of his loss in the 1994 GOP wave and comeback win in 1996...

His thoughts on the legacy of the Newt Gingrich Revolution of the 1990s...

His proudest accomplishments from 30+ years in the House...

The toughest two votes he took...

His analysis on the leadership success of Speaker Nancy Pelosi...

The closest Congressman Price came to a statewide race...

The advice he gives to new House members...

His current work and focuses in his post-House career...

AND Lamar Alexander, Howard Baker, Bob Bartlett, Joe Biden, Jack Brooks, C-Span after hours, cabals, Tom Carper, Chapel Hill, church suppers, Joe Clark, Bill Clinton, Jim Clyburn, committee barons, the Confederate Cause, the Contract with America, Harold Cooley, Thomas Dewey, John Dingell, down-home types, Clair Engle, existential questions, Bill Ford, the Gang of Eight, Albert Gore Sr., Jerry Grinstein, Phil Hart, Helms' proteges, Hope VI, Steny Hoyer, inherited Republicanism, inner clubs, the Iran Nuclear Agreement, Jacob Javits, Warren Magnuson, Mars Hill, Kevin McCarthy, the McGovern Commission, metal aprons, Bob Michel, midterm effects, moral suasion, Morehead Scholarships, Mountain Republicans, Ed Muskie, Bill Nelson, Barack Obama, PLEOs, peer pressure, pep talks, Mike Pertschuk, the Political Science Caucus, Edward Pugh, Ronald Reagan, Dan Rostenkowski, rump conventions, Terry Sanford, the Sanford School of Public Policy, Saul Shorr, shouting matches on the House floor, sit-ins, Sputnik, Freddy St. Germain, super-delegates, talk radio, the Tea Party, Donald Trump, turbulent townhall meetings, turnaround artists, Jamie Whitten, Jim Wright, Yale Divinity School, yeoman farmers & more!