Fulop announces senior campaign team, including top national Democratic consultants

Some of the nation’s top political ad makers, pollsters, research consultants, and digital strategists have signed on to help Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop become the next governor of New Jersey.

Fulop announced a nine-member senior leadership team to help him secure the 2025 Democratic gubernatorial nomination that includes Mark Putnam as his media consultant, Fred Yang as his pollster, Ian Mandel as a research consultant, and Megan Clasen as a digital consultant.

Also joining Team Fulop are Scott Salmon as counsel, Phil Swibinski as the lead communications advisor and direct mail strategist, Lisa Mandelblatt as a senior advisor for community engagement, and Closter Councilwoman Jannie Chung as the volunteer coordinator.

Jersey City Democratic Chair Barbara Stamato, a longtime Fulop ally and likely the next assemblywoman from the 31st district, will serve as the Hudson County coordinator.  Fulop has already received the Democratic organization line in Hudson.

“Any successful campaign requires talented, experienced leaders who believe in the candidate’s vision and will work as hard as they can to achieve victory, and that is exactly what we have been able to assemble in a very short period of time,” Fulop said.  “I’m proud that we have already been able to recruit so many volunteers, and our team will be working alongside me to build a grassroots supporter network that will allow us to connect with everyday residents across the state, listen to their concerns and hopes and show them that we can build an even better New Jersey together.”

Putnam’s clients have included President Barack Obama,  eleven governors, ten U.S. Senators, dozens of successful congressional candidates, and President Joe Biden’s super PAC.  He has worked with Fulop for the last ten years, starting with his successful bid to unseat incumbent Jerramiah Healy in the 2013 mayoral election.  Putnam

As a top Democratic pollster, Yang has worked for several U.S. Senators, governors, and Members of Congress; he also has polled for Fulop’s mayoral races.  He is the CEO of Hart Research Associates.

Mandel, a JonesMandel partner, has been a research strategist for over 20 successful gubernatorial and U.S. Senate campaigns, the Democratic National Committee, and Emily’s List.   Clasen, a partner at Gambit Strategies, was a senior media advisor to Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign and led the digital strategy for JB Pritzker’s campaign for governor of Illinois in 2018.

Salmon, a partner at Jardim, Meisner & Susser, has handled multiple election law cases in New Jersey over the last five years, and was counsel to Rep. Tom Malinowski’s campaigns.   He serves on the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority and has represented numerous municipalities and school boards.

A partner at Vision Media Marketing, Swibinski is one of the state’s top political consultants and two-time New Jersey  Globe Political Consultant of the Year.  He has worked with Gov. Phil Murphy, the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, and on Fulop’s 2021 re-election campaign.

Mandelblatt was the political director of Malinowski’s 2022 re-election campaign and a candidate for State Assembly in 2019.  Chung is also a former Assembly candidate.