Background

David Axelrod is one of the pre-eminent political media consultants in the United States, having produced winning media and messages for over 150 campaigns at the local, state, and national levels. Since opening the firm twenty years ago, Axelrod has been attracted to candidates and causes that offer more humane policies and progressive change.

In 2004, Axelrod helped State Senator Barack Obama score a landslide win in his U.S. Senate campaign, developing a message and media strategy that enabled Obama to defeat six opponents in the Democratic primary with an astounding 53% of the vote. He is currently serving as media advisor to Obama’s presidential campaign.

In 2006, Axelrod oversaw the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s independent expenditure media program, helping Democrats regain the House Majority for the first time since 1994. That same year, Axelrod served as media advisor to Deval Patrick, former head of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, who was elected Massachusetts’ first Democratic governor in 16 years, and the first ever African American governor of the state.

A native of New York City, Axelrod graduated from the University of Chicago and spent eight years as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, where he covered national, state and local politics. In 1981, he became the youngest political writer and columnist in the paper’s history. He also served as its City Hall Bureau Chief.

Leaving journalism in 1984, Axelrod managed Paul Simon’s upset victory over incumbent U.S. Senator Charles Percy in Illinois. Since then, he has worked for leading Democrats across the country, including Senator Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in New York, Governor Tom Vilsack in Iowa and Congressman Rahm Emanuel in Illinois. A specialist in urban politics, Axelrod has produced victories for mayoral candidates in Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit and Washington, D.C.

In addition to candidate races, Axelrod has developed successful media campaigns for many ballot initiatives and independent committees. In 2003, an Axelrod ad featuring former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop was cited as a major factor in defeating an anti-affirmative action initiative in California. He has produced advertising in support of raises for Illinois home healthcare workers and on behalf of stem-cell research.

Axelrod has served as an Adjunct Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University and has lectured on political media at Harvard University, the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania. He is a frequent guest on national TV networks, including CNN, MSNBC, NPR, ABC News, Fox News, PBS, and CNBC.

Active in charitable work in Chicago, Axelrod has lent his efforts in support of The Special Olympics and Misericordia. In 1998, he and his wife Susan helped found Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE), which has raised more than $9 million so far for scientists searching for a cure.(Source: AKP&D Message and Media)

Professional Positions

• City Hall Bureau Chief and Political Columnist for the Chicago Tribune: 1977-1984

• Founder of Axelrod & Associates political consulting, now AKP&D Message and Media: 1985

Campaigns

• Paul Simon, Senate: 1984
• Harold Washington, Chicago Mayor Re-election: 1987
• Dennis Archer, Detroit Mayor
• Michael R. White, Cleveland Mayor
• Anthony A. Williams, Washington D.C. Mayor
• Lee P. Brown, Houston Mayor
• John F. Street, Philadelphia Mayor
• Richard M. Daley, Chicago Mayor
• John Edwards, President: 2004
• Eliot Spitzer, Governor of New York: 2006
• Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts: 2006
• Rahm Emanuel, Representative for Illinois' 5th District: 2006
• Barack Obama, Senator for Illinois: 2004
• Barack Obama, President: 2008

Accomplishments

Criticism

Additional Information

Biography Links

• Wikipedia
• New York Times Profile
• AKP&D Biography