Mark Mellman

Mark Steven Mellman (September 13, 1955 – November 20, 2025) was an American pollster and political consultant. He was 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 candidates. Mellman also served as president of the American Association of Political Consultants.

Early life and education Mellman was born on September 13, 1955, in Hampton, Virginia, and was raised in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Princeton University in 1978 and received his MA in Political Science at Yale University.

In 2004, John Kerry's presidential campaign was an early Mellman Group client, a race Kerry ultimately lost.

As of 2016, Mellman was president of the American Association of Political Consultants. 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 participated in AIPAC conferences, for example speaking at a 2019 AIPAC event in Columbus alongside Neil Newhouse 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 by increasing public skepticism. Mellman's firm received a quarter million dollars for its work.

Since Yair Lapid entered politics, Mellman acted as a senior strategist for him. He described his relationship with Lapid and Yesh Atid as differing from his other clients. He noted that this relationship goes back very far, with Mellman helping decide the name of the party.

In 2010, Mellman suggested that Rasmussen Reports tended to be the most heavily stacked against Democratic candidates in elections.

Personal life and death Mellman married Mindy Horowitz in 1988; the couple had three children.

Mellman died from pancreatic cancer in Washington, D.C., on November 20, 2025, at the age of 70.