Mike Murphy (political consultant)

Michael Ellis "Mike" Murphy (born 1962) is a Republican political consultant.^[1] He advised Republicans including John McCain, Rick Lazio, John Engler, Tommy Thompson, Spencer Abraham, Christie Whitman, Lamar Alexander, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.^[1][2] Until January 2006, he was an adviser to Mitt Romney.^[3]

From 2015 to 2016, he also ran Jeb Bush's political action committee, Right to Rise. Murphy faced harsh questions for his role in Bush's failed run.^[4]

Education

Murphy studied Russian and International Relations while attending Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, dropping out his senior year.^[1] He served as a fellow at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government's Institute of Politics.^[2]

Career

Political commentary

Murphy serves as a commentator on NBC's Meet the Press and The Today Show. Murphy writes a column for TIME magazine. In August 2012, National Journal named Murphy one of "Ten Republicans to follow on Twitter".^[5]

On September 3, 2008, after a segment on NBC, Murphy was recorded, along with conservative commentator Peggy Noonan and then NBC reporter Chuck Todd, giving critical analysis about Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. All three were apparently unaware that their microphones were still live. In the captured audio, Murphy describes the pick of Palin as "cynical". Murphy had been publicly critical of the strategy of the Palin choice, saying her appeal was mostly limited to the Republican base.^[6]

In 2013, Murphy was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.^[7]

Revolution Agency

Mike Murphy is currently a partner at Revolution Agency, a political advertising, advocacy, public affairs and political consulting firm in Washington, DC.^[8][9] Prior to Revolution, Murphy was a founding principal of DC Navigators, an issues management (political consulting) firm with offices in Washington DC, Sacramento, California and Tallahassee, Florida.^[1] In 2009, Murphy left the firm.

Right to Rise PAC

In December 2014, Jeb Bush announced that he would avoid creating a Presidential exploratory committee in order to form a leadership political action committee.^[10] The PAC was called Right to Rise, and it was to be headquartered in Los Angeles to accommodate Murphy's residence.^[11] Murphy's Revolution Agency built Spanish and English websites for Right to Rise.^[12]

The Associated Press reported that Murphy would run Right to Rise as a surrogate of Bush's campaign. The PAC would handle data gathering, phone banks, and even get out the vote efforts. The AP outlined the unconventional strategy as dependent on Murphy because of his close personal ties to Bush, "The idea is that once Bush breaks away to form a campaign, Murphy, Bradshaw and Kochel (Bush's campaign managers) will have spent enough time working together so that the two groups will move in sync."^[13]

Under Murphy, Right to Rise raised over $100 million in support of Bush's campaign just as he announced his candidacy.^[4]

On February 20, 2016, after a series of disappointing results in the Republican primaries, Bush announced that he was suspending campaign.^[14][4]

After the end of the 2016 elections and Trump's victory, Murphy's career as a political consultant would appear to be in question after grossly underestimating Trump's chances for the White House.^[15]

Personal life

Murphy lives with his wife Tiffany Daniel in Los Angeles, California and also works as a writer and producer in the entertainment industry.^[1]

References

External links

• Murphy's commentary posting site with his writing for the Weekly Standard, LA Times, NYT, NPR and National Journal
• Appearances on C-SPAN