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Mike Murphy (political consultant)

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For other people named Michael Murphy, see Michael Murphy (disambiguation).
Mike Murphy
Born
Michael Ellis Murphy

(1962-06-04) June 4, 1962 (age 62)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
EducationGeorgetown University
OccupationPolitical consultant
Political partyRepublican[1]
Spouse
Tiffany Daniel
​
(m. 2011)​
Children1
WebsiteOfficial website

Michael Ellis Murphy (born June 4, 1962)[2] is a Republican political consultant, entertainment industry writer, and producer.[3] He advised Republicans including John McCain, Jeb Bush, David Dreier, John Engler, Tommy Thompson, Spencer Abraham, Christine Whitman, Lamar Alexander, Meg Whitman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.[4][5] Until January 2006, he was an adviser to Republican Mitt Romney.[6] Murphy resigned his position with Romney when his former client John McCain made it clear he would also pursue the Republicans presidential nomination in 2008; Murphy decided to be neutral in the contest between them. Murphy is a vocal Republican critic of President Donald Trump.[7][8][9][10] He endorsed Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.[11]

Early life and education

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Murphy was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1962, but was raised in Grosse Pointe, a suburb of Detroit.[12] He is of Irish, Austrian, and Alsatian descent.[4] He studied Russian and International Relations while attending Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, dropping out his senior year.[4][13] He served as a founding board member of the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and is currently Co-Director of the Center for the Political Future at the University of Southern California[14] and was a Senior Fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.[5]

Career

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Political commentary

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Murphy serves as a commentator on NBC's Meet the Press and political programs. Murphy wrote the "Murphy's Law" column for TIME Magazine during the 2008 election cycle. In August 2012, National Journal named Murphy one of "Ten Republicans to follow on Twitter".[15]

In 2003, Murphy visited a Georgian museum dedicated to Joseph Stalin and recounted his experience.[16]

In December 2006, he called on President George W. Bush to escalate the Iraq War and to establish a bipartisan war council made up of Democrats and Republicans.[17]

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.[18]

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.[19]

During the 2016 election, Murphy created and hosted the Radio Free GOP podcast, consistently rated as one of the most popular political podcasts on iTunes.[20]

In June 2019, Murphy launched the "Hacks on Tap" podcast with David Axelrod, focusing on developments in the 2020 Election.[21] Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs also collaborates on the podcast.[22]

Murphy is a strategic advisor to Republican Voters Against Trump, a project of Defending Democracy Together, launched in May 2020.[23]

Murphy endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.[24]

Revolution Agency

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In 1986, Murphy teamed with close friend Alex Castellanos to form Murphy & Castellanos. In 1989, he established MPGH, which he sold eleven years later to Interpublic. Murphy is currently senior partner at Revolution Agency, a political advertising, advocacy, public affairs and political consulting firm in Washington, D.C.[25][26] At Revolution, Murphy advises a variety of Fortune 500 companies, hedge funds, interest groups, political action committees and trade associations.[14]

Right to Rise PAC

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In the 2016 election cycle, Murphy served as chief strategist for Right to Rise, a PAC supporting Jeb Bush's U.S. presidential campaign.[27] The PAC raised over 100 million dollars, a record in primary PAC fundraising. Murphy set the PAC's strategy based on the assumption that Trump's campaign would inevitably fail, and so the PAC would instead concentrate on defeating other GOP candidates, "candidates in our lane that we can overcome."[28] Right to Rise spent over $118 million over the course of the 2016 Republican presidential primary.[29] Despite this sum, Jeb Bush only won a total of 4 Republican delegates and received a total 94,699 votes. A staggering $1,246.05 per vote. On February 20, 2016, after a series of disappointing results in the Republican primaries, Bush announced that he was suspending his campaign.[30]

At that point Right to Rise refunded more than 12 million dollars to its donors, the only candidate PAC in the 2016 to manage its funds in a way to make possible a major refund of unspent contributions. Murphy refused to endorse or vote for Donald Trump after the latter's nomination as the Republican Party's candidate for the U.S. presidency,[31] citing Trump's history of making racially charged remarks as a prohibiting factor.[13][32][33][34]

Personal life

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Murphy is a Republican[35] and lives with his wife Tiffany Daniel,[36] a Democrat[36] whom he married in 2011,[37] in Hancock Park, California[4][38] and who also works as a writer and producer in the entertainment industry.[4] He has a daughter[36][39][40] as well as a brother who lives in Georgia.[40]

References

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  1. ^ "Mike Murphy". PBS.
  2. ^ "Birthday of the Day: Mike Murphy, senior partner at Revolution Agency and analyst for NBC News". Politico. 4 June 2018.
  3. ^ Hickins, Michael (September 22, 2016). "OracleVoice: Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton: New Tech Trends To Watch". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e Mooney, Brian (June 12, 2005). "Romney guru thrives in political 'show business'". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 7, 2006. Retrieved March 7, 2006.
  5. ^ a b "Murphy Stats, The Career of Mike Murphy". CBS. 2007-06-05. Archived from the original on 2007-06-05. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  6. ^ Johnson, Glen (January 20, 2006). "Romney ends formal relationship with consultant Mike Murphy". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 20, 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  7. ^ "Mike Murphy on President Trump, 2018, and 2020". Conversations with Bill Kristol. The Foundation for Constitutional Government, Inc. June 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  8. ^ "Mike Murphy on the Trump Administration, the Midterms, and 2020". Conversations with Bill Kristol. The Foundation for Constitutional Government, Inc. February 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  9. ^ Murphy, Mike; Kristol, Bill (June 20, 2017). "Murphy Transcript". Conversations with Bill Kristol. The Foundation for Constitutional Government, Inc. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  10. ^ @murphymike (September 27, 2016). "I despise her silly lefty domestic policy and the class war tropes, but it's all too clear that of these two only HRC is ready to be POTUS" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 9, 2016 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "McCain Alums endorse Joe Biden for President". Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  12. ^ MSNBC (November 9, 2016). "The Election Night 'No One Saw Coming'". MSNBC. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved February 24, 2018 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ a b "Mike Murphy on the 2016 Election and Possible Political Candidates from Hollywood". Belfer Center. Retrieved February 24, 2018 – via Soundcloud.
  14. ^ a b "USC Center for the Political Future". dornsife-center-for-political-future.usc.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  15. ^ "Ten Republicans to follow on Twitter". National Journal. August 27, 2012. Archived from the original on August 27, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  16. ^ Mike Murphy (May 12, 2003). "Stalin Lives! At least in his birthplace" (PDF). The Weekly Standard: 16–17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2008.
  17. ^ Murphy, Mike (December 12, 2006). "Draft Democrats to help run Iraq". Los Angeles Times.
  18. ^ Marshall, Josh (2008-09-03). "Oy ... Live Mics Are Such Dangerous Things". Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on 1996-01-01. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  19. ^ Avlon, John (February 28, 2013). "The Pro-Freedom Republicans Are Coming: 131 Sign Gay Marriage Brief". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on January 1, 1996. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  20. ^ "Radio Free GOP With Mike Murphy by Mike Murphy on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Archived from the original on 1996-01-01.
  21. ^ "Hacks on Tap by Mike Murphy and David Axelrod on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 12 July 2023.
  22. ^ "About". Hacks on Tap. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  23. ^ "About Us".
  24. ^ Garrison, Joey (August 26, 2024). "More than 200 Bush, McCain, Romney alums endorse Harris, hit Trump". USA TODAY. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  25. ^ "Mike Murphy Joins Revolution Agency As Partner". Archived from the original on 1996-01-01.
  26. ^ "Political Advertising, Political Media, Advocacy, Advocacy Advertising". DC Ad Agency. Political Advocacy Advertising Agency. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-09-01. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  27. ^ Jordan, Mary (June 12, 2015). "Mike Murphy plots a win for Jeb Bush in the land of Hollywood liberals". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on January 1, 1996. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  28. ^ Issenberg, Sasha (October 20, 2015). "Mike Murphy of Right to Rise Explains His Theory That Jeb Bush Is Still the Candidate to Beat". www.bloomberg.com.
  29. ^ Ramsey, David (2016-02-01). "Super PAC Right to Rise raised $118 million for floundering Jeb Bush campaign". Arkansas Times. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  30. ^ "Jeb Bush Drops Out of Presidential Race". Time. 2016-02-21. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  31. ^ Belfer Center (January 5, 2017). "Mike Murphy: Advice for Dems: Less Kale, More Hammers". Belfer Center. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved February 24, 2018 – via YouTube.
  32. ^ Belfer Center (January 5, 2017). "Mike Murphy: Does the Truth Matter in Politics?". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved February 24, 2018 – via YouTube.
  33. ^ Cillizza, Chris (21 August 2018). "Can the Republican Party survive Donald Trump?". Analysis. CNN.
  34. ^ "Mike Murphy on Trump vs. Biden: The State of the Race".
  35. ^ @murphymike (January 8, 2018). "Haven't left GOP. Staying and fighting. A bit outnumbered" (Tweet). Retrieved February 14, 2018 – via Twitter.
  36. ^ a b c Mehta, Seema (March 8, 2016). "Super PAC consultant who spent $100 million on Jeb Bush is unapologetic". The Los Angeles Times. California. Archived from the original on January 1, 1996. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  37. ^ Jordan, Mary (June 12, 2015). "Mike Murphy plots a win for Jeb Bush in the land of Hollywood liberals". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  38. ^ "Michael Murphy". Washington Speakers Bureau. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  39. ^ "Debriefing Mike Murphy". The Weekly Standard. March 18, 2016. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018.
  40. ^ a b "Mike Murphy: Onward to 2020!". Conversations with Bill Kristol. December 5, 2018.
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