Mike Murphy

Mike Murphy is one of the Republican Party’s most successful political media consultants, having handled strategy and advertising for more than 26 successful gubernatorial and Senatorial campaigns. Murphy has been involved in high-profile races for GOP Governors and Senators including Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, Terry Branstad, Lamar Alexander, Jeff Sessions, Slade Gorton, Christie Whitman, Dirk Kempthorne, Tommy Thompson, and John Engler, and has advised political leaders in six foreign countries.

Murphy served as senior strategist for both John McCain’s first campaign for President in 2000 and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s historic election as Governor of California. He also played a key role as a strategist for Republican Voters Against Trump in 2020. A partner in a Washington DC based firm, Murphy advises several Fortune 500 corporations and many of America’s largest trade associations across various industries including insurance, technology, energy, financial services, and commercial real estate.

Murphy is a longtime analyst for NBC News and has been a frequent guest on other major networks such as CNN and MSNBC. He is a former columnist for TIME and has written op-ed pieces for The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the LA Times. He hosts the popular podcast "Hacks on Tap" with David Axelrod. Murphy is co-director of the Center for the Political Future at USC and serves on the boards of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago and the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools. He is a former Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. In addition to his political work, Murphy is a writer/producer in the entertainment industry through his company, engaging in projects with networks such as HBO, CBS, and 20th Century Fox Studios. He lives with his wife Tiffany and daughter in Los Angeles, California.