Ian Russell
Partner
Ian Russell is a longtime campaign operative and sought-after expert in digital and television advertising.
He has spent almost two decades in politics managing campaigns, advising candidates and officeholders, and crafting winning messaging to advance progressive causes. His work has been featured in multiple news outlets including The New York Times Magazine, Politico, CNN, and MSNBC.
Prior to joining Beacon Media in 2017, Russell spent six years at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where he served as deputy executive director and national political director. He oversaw the committee’s flagship Red to Blue program for challengers in a cycle where Democrats flipped 9 Republican-held seats despite Democrats losing the presidential race. He also oversaw the committee’s Frontline program for vulnerable incumbents.
In 2012, Russell served as the DCCC’s Midwest Political Director. In that role, he navigated the redistricting process in Illinois on behalf of national Democrats, leading to a pick-up up four congressional seats from that state due to newly-competitive maps.
Prior to rising up the ranks at DCCC, Russell worked on federal and state campaigns across the Midwest, including aiding US Senator Ben Nelson’s re-election in 2006, serving as chief strategist to Democratic state Senators in Nebraska’s unique Unicameral Legislature, and working for Howard Dean’s presidential campaign in Iowa in 2003 and early 2004. He is a native of rural Berrien County, Michigan.
