The 2025 Political Consultants Power 100
The top operatives winning electoral and issue campaigns across New York.
New York is not a swing state, but it’s been the epicenter of some of the biggest political battles lately. Democrats flipped four House seats here, gaining ground on Republicans – but still falling short of a majority. President-elect Donald Trump picked up support in the solidly blue state on his march to victory in November, and Republicans have continued to notch electoral wins across New York City’s outer boroughs and in other parts of the state. Meanwhile, New Yorkers debated such contentious issues as congestion pricing, affordable housing and the state’s Equal Rights Amendment.
For the biggest campaigns, entire armies of consultants are marshaled to support one side or the other. They’re made up of seasoned strategists, pollsters, fundraisers, researchers, ad-makers, media buyers, field directors, communications advisers – and more.
City & State’s 2025 Political Consultants Power 100 highlights the players who provide these services in the most consequential campaigns in New York. This list features consultants active in local, state and federal campaigns across New York from November 2023 through November 2024 – including firms based outside the state who nonetheless are shaping key races here. The ranking takes into account key clients, win-loss record and publicly reported campaign revenues; assesses the importance of each campaign and a consultant’s impact on it; and incorporates other subjective factors like a consultant’s proximity to powerful politicians. The list also highlights consultants who drive issue advocacy campaigns or independent expenditures, even if they’re harder to track.
Read on to see who made the cut for City & State’s latest Political Consultants Power 100.
1. John McLaughlin & Jim McLaughlin
CEO; President, McLaughlin & Associates
Multiple Democratic consulting firms in New York are truly national operations, but few local Republican shops have such a reach. One exception is McLaughlin & Associates, a polling firm headquartered in the Hudson Valley hamlet of Blauvelt. This cycle, the McLaughlin brothers were polling strategists for President-elect Donald Trump, bolstering a comeback bid in which he swept all seven key swing states. The firm also aided 13 successful House GOP candidates across the country. In New York, the firm worked with Rep. Mike Lawler and state Sens. Jack Martins, Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick and Bill Weber, but fell short with a multimillion-dollar ad blitz opposing Proposal 1, or the Equal Rights Amendment, that passed in New York.
Key clients: Donald Trump for president; Republican National Committee; Mike Sapraicone for U.S. Senate; Mike Lawler and Mazi Melesa Pilip for Congress; National Republican Congressional Committee; Nassau County Republican Committee; Vote NO on Prop One Committee; Jack Martins and Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick for state Senate; Brian Curran and John McGowan for Assembly; New York State Conservative Party
To view the full report, please visit: https://www.cityandstateny.com/power-lists/2025/01/2025-political-consultants-power-100/402027/?oref=csny-category-lander-top-story
