Mark founded The Mellman Group in 1982, conducting surveys out of graduate student housing at Yale to help a long-shot Democratic challenger upset an incumbent Republican Congressman. He built the firm into one of the nation’s premier public opinion research and political consulting firms, serving leading political figures, Fortune 500 companies, and many of the country’s most important public interest organizations.

Over four decades, Mark helped win more than fifty U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races, more than one hundred congressional campaigns, and a long list of local, state, and international elections. He also helped to win some of the most consequential ballot measure fights, including helping to pass the recent constitutional amendment for abortion rights in Michigan, the first of its kind in the country.

He worked closely with leaders of the House and Senate, including House Leaders Richard Gephardt and Steny Hoyer and Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle and Harry Reid.  One of Mark’s crowning achievements was helping Senator Reid win his final reelection campaign. When every other public and private poll showed Reid going down to defeat, Mark was alone in showing him on track to win. He stood his ground, trusting in the accuracy of our rigorous methodology, and helped win a race other polls misread.

Mark was an innovator in public opinion research, bringing new approaches to sample design, survey methodology, and research technology. He combined the academic disciplines of statistics and public opinion research with practical political strategy and often found a winning path when others could not see one.

His peers recognized his impact. Under his leadership, The Mellman Group became the first firm to be honored three times with the AAPC’s Pollster of the Year award. He served as president of the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) and was inducted into the Political Consultants Hall of Fame.

At a time when so many take shots at political consultants and especially pollsters, Mark believed in the essential role they play in a healthy democracy. He worked to build up the field and the community of political consulting and polling.

Mark was a teacher at heart, not only returning to teach at Yale, but constantly mentoring people at the firm and far beyond it. He offered guidance, perspective, and when needed a perfectly timed joke to so many working in politics. He built this firm not just as a business but as a community. He took genuine joy in mentoring young staff, celebrating colleagues’ successes, and helping generations of strategists, pollsters, and advocates find their voice. His door and his inbox were always open.

Above all, Mark was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather who took immeasurable pride in his family and who welcomed colleagues as part of that family.

His Jewish faith and his sense of responsibility to tikkun olam, repairing the world, were central to who he was, both personally and professionally.

Mark was a pioneer in our field and a deeply cherished member of our family at The Mellman Group. The loss is profound, but so is the legacy he leaves in the institutions he built, the leaders he helped elect, the causes he advanced, and the countless people he lifted along the way.

May Mark’s memory be a blessing and a source of strength for all of us as we carry his work and his values forward.