Biography

Michael Bocian serves as pollster and strategist for gubernatorial, senate, congressional, state legislative and mayoral campaigns. With 15 years of experience, he also works for party committees, issue advocacy groups, and corporate clients. His current and recent clients include:

• U.S. Senator Tom Udall (NM)
• Treasurer and U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias (IL)
• Lt. Gov. and Gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish (NM)
• U.S. Congresswoman Betty Sutton (OH-13)
• U.S. Congressman Martin Heinrich (NM-1)
• U.S. Congressman Ben Ray Lujan (NM-3)
• U.S. Congressman Paul Kanjorski (PA-11)
• Mayor Richard Daley (Chicago)
• Mayor Anthony Williams (Washington, DC)
• Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC)
• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)
• Democratic Governors Association (DGA)
• Oregon Senate Democrats
• National Education Association
• Sierra Club
• League of Conservation Voters
• Our Oregon
• SEIU
• Project New West

In 2008, Bocian helped Democrats win a sweep in New Mexico, moving from a delegation with a majority of Republicans to a delegation of only Democrats. In addition to Udall’s historic victory, Bocian helped Heinrich become the first Democrat ever to represent the Albuquerque-based 1st district and helped Lujan become the only Hispanic member of the delegation. Working for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Bocian advised the committee’s independent expenditure campaigns that produced Democratic pick-ups in VA2, OH1, OH15, AL2, FL24, NC8 and PA12, as well as holding Democratic seats in MS1 and KY3. He also polled for the DCCC during the victorious special election in NY23 this year.

Bocian has also directed the polling for several successful ballot initiative campaigns, including the January 2010 passage of tax increases on the wealthy and corporations in Oregon to protect education and public safety. In 2008, he helped achieve a sweep of 9 victories for the Defend Oregon Coalition and the passage of a renewable energy initiative in Missouri. His previous ballot initiatives include two amendments to the New Mexico Constitution to fund education in 2003 and a government reform initiative in Macomb County MI.

Bocian leads Greenberg Quinlan Rosner’s energy, environment and conservation practice, working with Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters, Defenders of Wildlife, Third Way, as well as coalitions of conservation groups on issues such as clean air and clean water, forests, and renewable energy. Bocian also works with utilities and energy companies on a range of issues including global warming, customer satisfaction and mergers and acquisitions.

Bocian has also conducted extensive education research among teachers, parents, and union leaders. He works with the National Education Association (as well as state affiliates in 19 states). In 2008, he oversaw polling among NEA members in 13 states, as well as the creation of a persuasion modeling effort and a new get-out-the-vote (GOTV) optimizer tool.

He is a frequent presenter and has appeared on MSNBC, Fox News, NPR, and in numerous publications including the Washington Post.

Prior to joining Greenberg Quinlan Rosner in 2001, Bocian helped develop the emerging field of online polling at Knowledge Networks. Along with CBS Polling Director Kathy Frankovic, Bocian won an award for Excellence in Performance and Leadership of Online Research (EXPLOR) for their work in measuring immediate public response to the 2000 presidential debates. Bocian also served as an election analyst for CNN during the 2000 elections.

Bocian received his masters in public policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and his bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University.