Mike DuHaime is a Partner at Mercury. Mr. DuHaime is among the most accomplished political operatives in the country and was recently named by Time Magazine as one of the 40 under 40 rising stars of American politics.
Mr. DuHaime runs Mercury’s New Jersey and Pennsylvania public affairs operations, where his unparalleled knowledge of the region’s politics, government and business proves a valuable resource to private sector clients in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the entire Northeast. He works particularly close with Mercury’s Washington, DC-based national grassroots outfit providing counsel on public awareness campaigns and policy initiatives.
In 2009, Mr. DuHaime was the lead strategist for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s campaign. Gov. Christie’s victory marked the first Republican statewide win in New Jersey since 1997 and the largest win for a GOP challenger since 1942.
Mr. DuHaime served as a member of the Governor’s Executive Transition Team, chairing its subcommittee on Authorities. His recommendations presaged the fundamental shift in how that state aggressively deals with the dozens of state and multi-state authorities under its jurisdiction.
Mr. DuHaime also advises multiple Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, sports teams, corporations and non-profits in the areas of public relations, grassroots organization, survey research, strategic planning and marketing.
In 2010, he spearheaded the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s independent expenditure efforts for the 2010 cycle, during which the Republicans netted six senate seats, the best mid-term election performance for the GOP in 16 years. Mr. DuHaime oversaw the National Republican Senatorial
Committee’s independent expenditure unit’s advertisements that contributed to wins by Senators Mark Kirk in Illinois, Rand Paul in Kentucky and Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania. Additionally Mr. DuHaime served as a senior advisor for Congressman Jon Runyan’s campaign in New Jersey’s 3rd congressional district, the first time since 1994 that a Republican defeated an incumbent Democrat House Member in New Jersey.
In 2011, Mr. DuHaime served as the Chairman of the Republican Delegation for New Jersey’s bipartisan Congressional Redistricting Commission. DuHaime led the Republicans to a significant win resulting in the Redistricting Commission adopting the Republicans’ congressional map by a 7-6 vote. PolitickerNJ wrote “DuHaime led the Republican team to a decisive win, in the process earning the praise of the governor and the thanks of statewide Republicans.”
Previously, Mr. DuHaime was Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign manager, the youngest person to manage a presidential campaign in more than three decades. Mr. DuHaime served as political director for the Republican National Committee (RNC), political director for Senator John McCain and Regional Political Director for President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign, where he helped develop the national GOTV and election day efforts.
Former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman said “Mike DuHaime is a huge talent - politically smart, excellent manager, exceptional at grassroots and experienced at building and managing a hundred-million dollar budget.” Karl Rove called Mr. DuHaime “a remarkable talent” with “great judgment.” And Senator John Cornyn (TX) said “Mike DuHaime has an enormous amount of campaign experience and political expertise.”
Previously, Mr. DuHaime was the Executive Director of the New Jersey Republican State Committee and operated his own political consulting firm, winning more than 87 percent of the federal, state and local races in which he was involved. After managing the only campaign that ousted a Democrat state senator in a 16-year period, Mr. DuHaime was recognized by Campaigns & Elections Magazine at age 24 as a “Rising Star in American Politics.”
A graduate of Rutgers University with a BA in journalism and political science, Mr. DuHaime now teaches an undergraduate political campaigning course at Rutgers. He has also spoken on politics and public affairs at Harvard, NYU and UCLA. He was a four-year skater on the Rutgers Ice Hockey team where he served as a captain for championship teams his junior and senior seasons. Governor Christie recently appointed him to the Rutgers University Board of Trustees.
Mr. DuHaime lives in Westfield, NJ with his wife, Dore, and their three children.
