Jay Marlin is a Managing Director in the D.C. office and has over twenty years experience in politics. Since joining SKDK in 1996, Jay has developed the political and communications strategy, along with multi-million dollar advertising campaigns, for SKDK’s biggest political clients. Before joining SKDK, Jay was the campaign manager and communications director for U.S. Senate, gubernatorial, congressional and mayoral races—including working for Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, former Colorado Senator Tim Wirth and former Connecticut Congressman Toby Moffett.

In 2011, Jay helped develop the strategy and advertising which led to Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood’s resounding 61% re-election victory—the only statewide Democrat to win election. Despite being the GOP’s top target and having almost $500,000 of ads aired against him for not joining the lawsuit against President Obama’s healthcare plan, Hood beat Governor Haley Barbour’s handpicked candidate, lost only four of 82 counties, and won the same percentage of the vote as the GOP candidate for governor. Also, in 2011, Jay produced the advertising which helped elect New Haven Mayor John DeStefano to an historic 9th term as Mayor—despite a strong wave of anti-incumbency.

At SKDK, Jay has worked on the last several U.S. presidential campaigns. In 2008, Jay produced national/state-specific ads as a member of the Obama media team, producing television ads for critical states, such as Nevada and Michigan. In 2000, Jay worked on ads for Vice President Gore’s presidential campaign. And in 1996, Jay managed the state-specific TV and radio effort for President Clinton’s re-election campaign.

One of the biggest upsets in 2008 was the defeat of N.C. Senator Elizabeth Dole. Jay helped develop the political strategy and produced $10 million of ads for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee that resulted in Dole’s defeat. Those ads were praised by the Washington Post and Time Magazine as among the “most effective” and “devastating ads” in the 2008 cycle. The ads received six “Pollies,” the top industry-wide awards for political advertising, including “Best 2008 Democratic TV/Radio Campaign.”

Over the years, Jay has produced advertising for the Democratic Attorneys General Association, helping defeat Republican Attorney General candidates in Rhode Island and Louisiana. Jay has developed advertising to elect Democrats often in states not friendly to Democratic candidates. In 2003, despite being outspent by over a million dollars, Jay developed the strategy for Hood’s first win as Attorney General. And Jay produced independent expenditure TV ads that helped re-elect Senator Mary Landrieu and Florida Senator Bill Nelson.

Jay has also provided strategic communications advice and advertising to SKDK’s non-political clients—such as Florida Trial Lawyers Association, Reliant Energy, Allstate, Qwest, XM Radio, and a top Florida plaintiff law firm.

Prior to working full-time in politics, Jay was a corporate trial attorney in Denver. He earned a law degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a B.A. from Duke University.