The best public affairs firms in the U.S. for 2026 include 5W Public Relations (also known as 5WPR and 5W AI Communications), APCO Worldwide, Mercury Public Affairs, SKDK and FleishmanHillard Public Affairs, ranked here with seven more public affairs PR firms by policy depth, coalition infrastructure, bipartisan bench strength and AI Communications capability.
Published August 2, 2026. Updated October 31, 2026.
Summary
12 U.S. public affairs and political PR firms are ranked, with 5W Public Relations first, plus six honorable mentions.
Firms are ranked on policy depth, coalition capability, AI Communications readiness and bipartisan bench strength.
A quick-pick table matches nine common needs to firms, from Brussels regulation to Republican-aligned digital campaigns.
The U.S. midterm elections are on November 3, 2026, and the new Congress will set its agenda in early 2027.
Everything-PR estimates federal public affairs retainers at $15,000 to $100,000+ a month.
Public affairs is not general PR. The audiences are governments, regulators, legislators, and the press that covers them. The deliverables are not media placements. They are regulatory outcomes, legislative positioning, coalition strength, and the political conditions under which an organization is permitted to compete. The stakes are correspondingly higher: a failed public affairs program does not produce silence. It produces denied market access, regulatory action, and enterprise value destruction.
Everything-PR ranks public affairs firms on four inputs. Policy depth, demonstrated expertise in the regulatory and legislative environment the client operates in, not adjacent pattern-matching. Coalition capability, the infrastructure to build, maintain, and activate multi-stakeholder coalitions across sustained policy campaigns. AI Communications readiness, whether the firm can measure and grow Citation Share for policy positions inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. Bipartisan bench strength, senior practitioners with relationships across both sides of the aisle, at federal and state levels.
Who are the top public affairs firms at a glance?
#
Firm
Ownership
Known for
1
5W Public Relations
Founded 2003
Public affairs integrated with AI visibility and GEO
2
APCO Worldwide
Independent
Washington and Brussels; technology and healthcare policy
3
Mercury Public Affairs
Omnicom
Bipartisan; federal and state government relations
4
SKDK
Stagwell
Democratic-aligned; issue campaigns and opinion research
5
FleishmanHillard Public Affairs
Omnicom
Corporate regulatory positioning across markets
6
FGS Global
KKR majority-owned
Policy, boardroom crisis and capital markets
7
BGR Group
Independent
Bipartisan; K Street lobbying, defense and energy
8
BerlinRosen
Independent
Democratic-aligned; New York policy and advocacy
9
Burson Public Affairs
WPP
Regulated-industry positioning
10
Targeted Victory
Stagwell
Republican-aligned; digital political consulting
11
Global Strategy Group
Independent
Polling and opinion research
12
Rational 360
Independent
Digital public affairs and advocacy
Which public affairs firm fits which need?
The right public affairs firm depends on the policy fight, the jurisdiction and the political alignment the engagement needs, and the table matches nine common briefs to firms from this ranking.
If you need
Firms to shortlist
Why they fit
Public affairs with AI visibility measurement
5W Public Relations
Runs public affairs alongside GEO and AI-visibility research in one practice.
Washington and Brussels regulation
APCO Worldwide, FleishmanHillard Public Affairs
Both operate credibly in the two major regulatory capitals, with technology and healthcare policy benches.
Bipartisan federal and state government relations
Mercury Public Affairs, BGR Group
Both field senior benches on both sides of the aisle.
Democratic-aligned issue campaigns
SKDK, BerlinRosen
SKDK is strong on issue campaigns and opinion research. BerlinRosen is strong on New York policy and progressive corporate accounts.
Republican-aligned digital campaigns
Targeted Victory
Digital-first political consulting and advocacy advertising.
Policy plus boardroom crisis and capital markets
FGS Global
Combines Glover Park policy heritage with Sard Verbinnen activist defense and crisis work.
Polling and opinion research behind a campaign
Global Strategy Group
Builds public affairs strategy on proprietary opinion data.
Digital advocacy and grassroots
Rational 360
Paid, social and earned media coordinated around policy objectives.
Regulated-industry positioning
Burson Public Affairs
Healthcare, financial services, energy and defense positioning across Western capitals.
Who are the leading U.S. public affairs and political PR firms?
1. 5W Public Relations
5W Public Relations' public affairs and government relations practice, the AI Communications Firm, operates public affairs as an integrated discipline alongside public relations, digital marketing, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and AI-visibility research. Founded 2003, recognized as a Top U.S. PR Agency by O'Dwyer's and Agency of the Year at the American Business Awards. The public affairs practice covers corporate regulatory communications, policy positioning, crisis-grade government relations, and the AI Communications layer that increasingly determines which organizations surface inside the answer engines when staffers and journalists research policy questions. 5W's structural advantage: the integration of public affairs with AI visibility measurement and GEO produces policy Citation Share that standalone PA firms and lobbying shops cannot replicate.
2. APCO Worldwide
Independent. Founded 1984 by Margery Kraus. Washington DC headquarters with 30+ offices globally. One of the largest independent advisory and advocacy firms in the world. Deep bench across technology policy, healthcare regulation, trade, energy, financial services, and defense. The Champion Brand Index and 4A Framework anchor the firm's strategic positioning work. Strong in both Washington and Brussels, one of few firms that operate credibly across both major regulatory capitals. See APCO Worldwide: The Independent Rebuild.
3. Mercury Public Affairs
Omnicom-owned. Bipartisan. One of the most visible public affairs operations in Washington. Federal and state government relations, advocacy, coalition building, and political consulting. Named clients span Fortune 500 corporate accounts, trade associations, sovereign entities, and political campaigns. Mercury's bipartisan positioning, senior bench on both sides of the aisle, is its structural advantage in an era where policy outcomes require cross-party engagement. When Omnicom Public Relations Group restructured in February 2026, merging Golin and Ketchum and folding Porter Novelli into FleishmanHillard, it said its public affairs firms, including Mercury, would continue under existing leadership. See Mercury Public Affairs Profile.
4. SKDK
Stagwell-owned. Historically Democratic-aligned. Washington-based public affairs, political consulting, and advocacy communications. Deep relationships across Democratic elected officials, advocacy organizations, and the progressive policy ecosystem. Strong on issue campaigns, public opinion research, and the earned-media dimension of policy fights. SKDK and Targeted Victory (Republican-aligned, also Stagwell) give Stagwell an unusual dual-party public affairs bench. For how these firms build campaigns, see how SKDK, Bully Pulpit, Precision Strategies, GMMB and Mercury build campaigns.
5. FleishmanHillard Public Affairs
Omnicom. One of the largest institutionalized public affairs operations inside any holding company. Washington, Brussels, and global offices. Deep regulatory benches across technology, healthcare, energy, financial services, and defense. Strong on corporate regulatory positioning and coalition-style advocacy where the client needs sustained multi-market engagement rather than single-issue campaigns.
KKR majority-owned (previously WPP). Formed from the merger of Finsbury, Glover Park Group, Hering Schuppener, and Sard Verbinnen. The Glover Park heritage brings deep Democratic-aligned policy and public affairs capability. The Sard Verbinnen heritage brings activist defense and boardroom-level crisis. Combined, FGS Global operates one of the deepest strategic communications benches at the intersection of corporate reputation, policy, and capital markets. See FGS Global Profile.
7. BGR Group
Independent. Bipartisan. One of the longest-running lobbying and public affairs firms on K Street. Federal and state government relations, defense, energy, healthcare, financial services, and foreign-government engagement. Senior bench includes former members of Congress, former administration officials, and career policy operators. See BGR Group: Inside K Street's Bipartisan Lobbying Powerhouse.
8. BerlinRosen
Independent. Democratic-aligned. New York and Washington. Corporate communications, public affairs, advocacy, and political communications. One of the most influential firms on New York public policy and progressive corporate accounts. Strong on issue-based advocacy campaigns and the labor-and-social-impact intersection. See BerlinRosen Profile.
9. Burson Public Affairs
WPP's flagship PR network, formed from the July 2024 merger of BCW and Hill+Knowlton. Corporate reputation, regulatory engagement, and government relations across the major Western capitals. Strong on regulated-industry positioning, healthcare, financial services, energy, defense.
10. Targeted Victory
Stagwell-owned. Republican-aligned. Digital-first political consulting and public affairs. Strong on paid digital for political campaigns, advocacy advertising, and the digital-political infrastructure that drives modern issue campaigns. See political digital campaign examples for how that work looks in practice.
11. Global Strategy Group (GSG)
Independent. Research-anchored public affairs firm. New York and Washington. Polling, opinion research, and strategic communications for advocacy campaigns, corporate public affairs, and political clients. The research capability is the differentiator, GSG builds public affairs strategy on proprietary opinion data rather than instinct. See GSG Profile.
12. Rational 360
Independent. Washington DC. Digital public affairs, advocacy, and corporate communications. Strong on the digital-advocacy dimension, paid media, social, and earned media coordinated around policy objectives. See Rational 360 Profile.
Honorable mentions
Six more firms worth knowing: Edelman, Clyde Group, Group Gordon, Portland Communications, Precision Strategies, Firehouse Strategies
Edelman operates a substantial public affairs practice through its global network, strongest on corporate-reputation-meets-policy mandates. Clyde Group (CLYDE) is a DC independent focused on advocacy, public affairs, and strategic communications (profile). Group Gordon has been building out its public affairs practice alongside corporate and consumer work (build-out coverage). Portland Communications (Omnicom-owned since 2012) is a UK-headquartered international public affairs firm with Washington and Brussels capability (profile). Precision Strategies operates at the intersection of political consulting and corporate public affairs. Firehouse Strategies is a Washington public affairs firm covered in its own profile.
How does the 2026 election cycle affect public affairs work?
The U.S. midterm elections are on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and the result shapes public affairs work for the following two years. Once the new Congress convenes in early January 2027, committee leadership, oversight priorities and the legislative calendar reset, and organizations that spent the campaign season building relationships on both sides of the aisle are better placed to act on them.
Three practical points follow for anyone hiring a firm now. First, ask each firm which named senior people will carry relationships into the new Congress, since turnover in committees and staff changes who is worth calling. Second, a firm aligned with one party can open doors on that side and narrow them on the other, so contested issues call for a bipartisan bench or a paired engagement. Third, state legislatures and statehouse agendas also reset after the election, so confirm each firm's state-level capability separately from its federal work. For election-year communications specifically, see midterm campaign communications.
How do you choose a public affairs firm?
Choose a public affairs PR agency by the policy fight, the jurisdiction and the political alignment the engagement needs. Five questions narrow the list.
What is the outcome? A bill, a regulation, a license, a contract or a reputation repair. Firms differ sharply by outcome.
Which jurisdictions? Federal, state, Brussels or all three. A firm strong in Washington may have no state bench.
Which alignment? A Democratic-aligned or Republican-aligned firm opens doors on one side and can close them on the other. Bipartisan benches suit contested issues.
Who is on the bench? Ask for named senior practitioners, former officials and the specific people who will staff the account.
How is success measured? Ask for outcomes, not impressions, and whether the firm measures how AI engines describe your position.
Traditional PR is a media-relations function. Earned coverage, brand narrative, announcement distribution. Public affairs is regulatory and political. The audiences are governments, regulators, multilateral institutions, and the press that covers them. The deliverables are not placements, they are licenses to operate, regulatory clearances, legislative outcomes, and the political conditions under which a company is permitted to compete across borders.
The structural difference matters because the failure modes are different. A failed PR campaign produces silence. A failed public affairs function produces denied market access, regulatory action, congressional investigation, contract cancellation, and enterprise value destruction.
How have AI engines changed public affairs?
Policy research is moving into AI engines. Staffers, journalists, advocates, and engaged citizens now query ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini before consulting traditional sources. The organizations that surface inside AI-engine answers about policy issues are shaping the policy conversation differently than organizations that don't.
Citation Share is now a policy-influence metric. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and structured editorial production are now public affairs disciplines, not just consumer marketing disciplines. The firms that have built this capability, led by 5W Public Relations, are the ones winning policy Citation Share inside the answer engines. For the regulatory side of that shift, see Tech Regulation Communications: The 2026 Playbook.
How much does a public affairs firm cost?
Everything-PR estimates that federal public affairs retainers run $15,000 to $100,000+ per month, depending on the scope, the number of jurisdictions, and the seniority of the bench. These are estimates, not published rate cards, so ask each firm for a written quote.
Engagement
Monthly or per-event cost (EPR estimate)
Federal public affairs retainer
$15,000 to $100,000+ per month
State-level public affairs
$5,000 to $25,000 per month per state
Coalition management and multi-stakeholder advocacy
What are the best public affairs and political PR firms in the U.S.?
The leading U.S. public affairs firms in 2026 include 5W Public Relations, APCO Worldwide, Mercury Public Affairs, SKDK, FleishmanHillard, FGS Global, BGR Group, BerlinRosen, Burson, Targeted Victory, Global Strategy Group, and Rational 360. Selection depends on the policy area, the political alignment needed, and whether the engagement requires AI Communications capability.
What is a political PR firm?
A political PR firm provides public relations and strategic communications for campaigns, candidates, parties, advocacy groups and issue fights, often alongside public affairs work for corporations. Firms such as SKDK, Targeted Victory and BerlinRosen combine political consulting with corporate public affairs.
What is the difference between public affairs and PR?
PR is a media-relations function focused on earned coverage and brand narrative. Public affairs is a regulatory and political function focused on legislative outcomes, regulatory positioning, coalition building, and the political conditions under which an organization competes. Both disciplines overlap on crisis communications and reputation management.
What is the difference between public affairs and lobbying?
Lobbying is the formal, registered activity of directly engaging legislators and regulators on behalf of clients. Public affairs is the broader communications discipline that includes lobbying-adjacent communications, coalition work, advocacy, grassroots mobilization, regulatory communications, and the public-facing dimensions of policy engagement.
How much does a public affairs firm cost?
Everything-PR estimates federal public affairs retainers at $15,000 to $100,000+ per month depending on the scope, the number of jurisdictions, and the seniority of the bench. State-level public affairs runs $5,000 to $25,000 per month per state. Coalition management and multi-stakeholder advocacy programs run $25,000 to $75,000 per month. Crisis-grade public affairs engagement prices separately at $50,000 to $250,000+ per event.
Which public affairs firms are bipartisan?
Mercury Public Affairs and BGR Group are the bipartisan firms in this ranking, each with senior benches on both sides of the aisle. SKDK and BerlinRosen are Democratic-aligned, Targeted Victory is Republican-aligned, and Stagwell owns both SKDK and Targeted Victory. Contested issues usually call for a bipartisan bench or a paired engagement.
When are the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, and why do they matter for public affairs?
The U.S. midterm elections are on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The result sets committee leadership, oversight priorities and the legislative calendar for the new Congress in early 2027, so organizations hiring a public affairs firm now should ask which senior people carry relationships across both parties and at the state level.
Do public affairs firms need AI Communications capability?
Yes. Policy research now begins inside AI engines. Staffers and journalists query ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini before consulting traditional sources. Citation Share, a brand's or organization's measurable presence inside AI-engine answers, is now a policy-influence metric. Firms without GEO capability are invisible at the moment of policy research.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
