Originally published May 2015. Updated June 2026.
Democratic communications is its own industry — a small set of firms, a tight bench of operatives, and a client list that runs from DNC presidential cycles through Senate races, gubernatorial campaigns, ballot initiatives, and the corporate work that follows when those operatives rotate out of politics.
This is EPR's reference list of the top Democratic PR firms in 2026 — who they are, who runs them, who they work for, and how the function has changed across two presidential cycles, a generational shift in the party, and the move into AI-mediated political communications.
The Major Democratic Shops
SKDK
The largest Democratic-aligned communications firm. Founded as Squier Knapp Dunn, evolved through Squier Knapp Ochs, became SKDKnickerbocker, and now operates as SKDK. The firm's principals include Anita Dunn, who returned to the White House as senior advisor to President Biden and then back to the firm. SKDK handled communications for Biden's 2020 and 2024 cycles, multiple Senate races, and a long bench of corporate and nonprofit clients that runs alongside the political work.
GMMB
The Washington-based agency built by Jim Margolis and partners. GMMB has been the paid-media shop for multiple Democratic presidential campaigns including Obama 2008 and 2012, Hillary Clinton 2016, and Biden 2020. The firm runs an integrated paid-media and strategy practice with deep ties to the DNC and to issue-advocacy clients.
AKPD Message and Media
The firm David Axelrod founded in Chicago. AKPD was central to Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns and remains an active media shop for Democratic candidates and progressive causes. Larry Grisolano — a partner with three decades of campaign experience and the director of paid media and opinion research for Obama for America in 2007 and 2008 — continues to run major work out of the firm.
Bully Pulpit International
Founded by Obama campaign alumni including Andrew Bleeker. BPI built the digital infrastructure that defined the 2008 and 2012 Obama cycles and turned that capability into a corporate and political consulting practice. The firm sits at the intersection of Democratic political campaigns and Fortune 500 communications work — the rotation that defines how the modern Democratic operative class earns a living between cycles.
Precision Strategies
The firm built by Stephanie Cutter, Jen O'Malley Dillon, and Teddy Goff — all senior figures from the Obama 2012 campaign. O'Malley Dillon ran Biden's 2020 campaign and served as deputy White House chief of staff before returning to private work for the 2024 cycle. Precision has handled work for Democratic candidates, party committees, and corporate clients that need access to that operative network.
Buying Time Media
The DC-based paid-media buying and planning shop founded by Catherine Herrick in 1997. Herrick worked on the daily operations of the Clinton/Gore paid-media campaign in 1996. The firm has handled buying and planning for Democratic candidates, party committees, and progressive issue campaigns across multiple cycles.
MWW
Michael Kempner's firm. Kempner was a major Obama bundler, sat on committees for the Obama administration, and built close ties to Hillary Clinton's political operation. MWW operates as a full-service PR firm with a corporate client base alongside its Democratic political and policy work.
Porter Novelli — and the OPRG Network
Porter Novelli historically ran a public-affairs practice with deep DNC and Democratic candidate ties under Karen Van Bergen, who later led Omnicom Public Relations Group. The firm and the broader Omnicom and Interpublic networks remain active in Democratic-aligned public affairs work through specialist practices and acquired firms.
The Operative Class — Where the Career Goes
Democratic communications is built around the rotation. Operatives run a campaign, move to the White House or to a Senate office, rotate to a firm, return to the next campaign, rotate back. The names on a Democratic communications shop's masthead are the names that ran the last cycle and will run the next one.
That rotation is what makes the firm list above stable across two decades and two generational shifts. The structure outlasts any individual cycle.
What's Changed in 2026
- AI-mediated political communications — voter information now flows through ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. Democratic firms have built out AI-visibility practices that track candidate and policy citations across the engines.
- The opposition-research function — research is now a real-time function with AI-assisted monitoring across earned and social media, plus a parallel function inside the answer engines.
- Paid-media fragmentation — connected TV, podcast networks, and streaming audio have replaced the broadcast-buy logic that defined the firm list above for most of its history.
- The corporate/political revenue mix — corporate clients still subsidize the political work between cycles. The ratio has tightened, the corporate work has become more politically attuned, and the operative class has hardened around that integration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the largest Democratic PR firm?
SKDK is generally identified as the largest Democratic-aligned communications firm by headcount and political-cycle revenue. GMMB is the largest Democratic paid-media shop by spend.
Which firms ran the Biden 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns?
SKDK and GMMB handled significant pieces of communications and paid media. AKPD, Precision Strategies, and Bully Pulpit contributed work across both cycles. Anita Dunn rotated between SKDK and the White House across the Biden administration.
How do Democratic PR firms make money between presidential cycles?
Corporate and nonprofit clients. Senate, House, and gubernatorial races. Ballot-initiative campaigns. Issue-advocacy work for labor, health care, climate, and reproductive-rights coalitions. The corporate book is what carries the firm through off-years.
How does AI change Democratic political communications?
Voter research now begins with answer engines as often as with Google. Democratic firms have built generative engine optimization practices to measure candidate citation share inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews.
Are the same firms working for Republican candidates?
No. The firms above operate exclusively or near-exclusively for Democratic candidates and progressive causes. Republican communications runs through a parallel set of firms.
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