In the wake of Mark Mellman’s death last week, the longtime Democratic pollster is being remembered for his leadership of Democratic Majority for Israel, an advocacy group he helped launch in 2019 to counter a growing hostility toward Israel on the left, a value proposition that proved prescient. 

But his role leading the group, in what turned out to be the capstone to his decades-long career, was serendipitous — and almost didn’t happen. 

The group’s founding board members “reached out to Mark for advice on who we should hire,” one of the board members, speaking anonymously to discuss the details of the group’s founding, told Jewish Insider. “And Mark said, ‘I’ll do it.’ We went, ‘OK.’ We weren’t expecting that.”

San Francisco Democratic fundraiser Sam Lauter, a former AIPAC activist who has been involved with DMFI from the beginning, said Mellman’s role atop DMFI gave the group “instant credibility.” Weeks later, Mellman was weighing in on a series of tweets from then-freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) that trafficked in antisemitic tropes. 

As political activists reflect on Mellman’s life, several Jewish Democrats told JI that his clear-eyed support for Israel — and his ability to articulate its strategic importance to Democrats — will leave a lasting impact on the party.

“He really worked hard to help candidates understand why the U.S.-Israel relationship was so important, why it was important to the United States [and] why it was important to support that relationship,” said former Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC), who became DMFI’s board chair this year. “I think he brought clarity to that discussion whenever he had it, and he was unequivocal about it. I think that helped a lot of people think about how you talk about the relationship to people who don’t necessarily understand it or don’t support it.”

While Mellman, who died at 70 last Thursday of pancreatic cancer, has long been involved in Jewish causes and conducted research for Jewish groups, that only became his bread-and-butter in the final years of his life. Over a decades-long career as a leading pollster, he helped elect prominent Democrats across the country. 

“As someone who has come up through Jewish Democratic politics professionally over the past two decades, there’s no bigger giant in the field,” said Aaron Keyak, who most recently served in the Biden administration as deputy antisemitism special envoy. 

Mellman worked for 30 U.S. senators and over two dozen members of Congress, and he advised Israeli politician Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid party. Nate Silver, the founder of the polling website FiveThirtyEight, once called Mellman the most accurate pollster in the country. Mellman was the chief pollster for John Kerry’s presidential campaign against George W. Bush in 2004. 

According to those who knew him, he never wavered on his core values. He spoke publicly about turning down requests from Democrats who didn’t align with his positions in support of abortion access and gun control. Most of all, he stuck to his support for Israel. 

“He’s as blue of a Democrat as anyone, and also understands that just because you identify as a member of the Democratic Party doesn’t mean you need to support everything all Democrats do, or even specific candidates that are nominated by the party,” said Keyak. “He’s someone who is true to his convictions in a time when far too many in Washington, D.C., shape their policy beliefs based off of the individual politician that the party has nominated.”

Last year, Mellman and DMFI invested heavily to challenge anti-Israel Democratic incumbents Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-MO). The group’s efforts prevailed. 

“Success in this profession and in this industry is not an easy place to achieve, and very few people achieve it and hold on to their integrity and their ethics and just still be a mensch,” Lauter said. “Accompanying all the ability that he had, Mark was a mensch.” 

Mark Mellman, a longtime Democratic political strategist and former president of Democratic Majority for Israel, died this week after a long illness.

Mellman, CEO of the Mellman Group, led campaigns for more than 30 U.S. senators, including former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), as well as dozens of members of Congress, including Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Seth Moulton (D-MA). He worked on John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign and was the former president of the American Association of Political Consultants.

He was also a fixture of election coverage and commentary, analyzing presidential debate performances for PBS and The Wall Street Journal, writing a longtime column for The Hill, and more.

In Israel, Mellman was the longtime advisor to opposition leader Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid party, including during Yesh Atid’s meteoric rise from a new party to the second-largest in the Knesset in the 2013 election and Lapid’s brief time as prime minister in 2022.

Lapid paid tribute to Mellman as “a friend and a mentor. A man with a huge heart and a wonderful sense of humor. He was also a trusted advisor and a brilliant strategic mind. …He will be sorely missed by me, my family and everyone at Yesh Atid.” 

Mellman co-founded Democratic Majority for Israel in 2019 to support pro-Israel Democrats and counter rising anti-Israel sentiment in the party. He led DMFI, one of the first pro-Israel organizations to donate directly to political campaigns, for six years, until he stepped down earlier this year.

Todd Richman, the co-founder and former co-chair of Democratic Majority for Israel, wrote on X, “The news of @MarkMellman passing away is devastating. He will be sorely missed especially within the pro-Israel community. His stature, intellect, knowledge of the issues, his ability to understand trends and his overall credibility helped make @DemMaj4Israel into the powerhouse that it is today.” 

“We could not have done this without him,” Richman continued. “I remember when Ann Lewis and I met with Mark just to get additional thoughts on how we can build this organization, and he told us he would like to be the organization’s CEO. Ann and I couldn’t believe it. It was like manna from heaven. DMFI would not be where it is today without him.”

Mellman also worked with AIPAC in 2015 on a campaign against the Iran nuclear deal.

He was an active member of the Kesher Israel synagogue in Georgetown.

Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, posted on X that he “always had tremendous respect for Mark Mellman.” 

Democratic Arizona state Rep. Alma Hernandez called Mellman “a passionate, strong voice for Israel…one sharp, good man and an amazing pollster. Boy, did he know his stuff. … I know the pro-Israel [Democrat] world lost a true leader.” 

William Daroff, the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said, “Mark Mellman never stood on the sidelines. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our community and worked to elect leaders who shared his own unwavering commitment to Israel and the Jewish people. He brought strategy, integrity and courage to every fight. I was proud to call him my friend, and our community is stronger because he gave it his voice, his talent and his heart.”

Mellman leaves behind his wife, three children and grandchildren. His funeral will be held on Sunday.