Mike Madrid

Mike Madrid is an American political strategist, campaign manager, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, he was press secretary for former Republican leader of the California Assembly Rod Pacheco, as well as the political director for the California Republican Party. He has provided commentary to various publications with regards to changing trends, voting behaviors, and communication strategies geared towards the Latino vote.

Madrid was a fellow for the Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California (USC), teaching as an adjunct lecturer on Race, Class, and Partisanship at the USC Center for the Political Future in 2019. He also served as a senior fellow and lectured at the School of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine. He was a co-founder of the Lincoln Project in 2019 before leaving the group in December 2020.

Biography Early life and education Madrid grew up in Moorpark, California, born to Mexican American parents who moved to Moorpark in 1971. He initially attended Moorpark College, where he served as the student body president. His first experience with politics came after volunteering during the 1992 presidential election in California. California's then governor Pete Wilson appointed Madrid as the California Community College Board of Governors's student representative in the early 1990s.

Despite being a Republican, Madrid has done consulting work for candidates from the Democratic Party in addition to the Republican Party, notably including for former Los Angeles mayor and Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa during the 2018 California gubernatorial election.

Madrid was a fellow for the Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California and taught at the university as an adjunct lecturer on Race, Class, and Partisanship at the USC Center for the Political Future in 2019. He left the group in December 2020 due to disputes with the organization over money and power. This came under the backdrop of sexual misconduct allegations against Lincoln Project co-founder John Weaver.

In 2023, he was awarded the UnidosUS Capital Award. Madrid released his book on Latino voting trends, "The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy", in June 2024. He is currently a principal at the political consultancy group Grassroots Lab, a firm he founded in 2008. He also publishes articles on California City News.

Personal life In addition to his residence in California, Madrid has a second home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He was married from 1998 to 2008. He has three children.