Michael Cohen

At Johns Hopkins, Michael D. Cohen is a lecturer for the MA in Communication program. Cohen teaches courses on communications writing, research methods, digital strategy, political campaigns, and public policy.

He is founder and CEO of Cohen Research Group, a data-driven analytics and technology firm leveraging digital, quantitative and qualitative research methods, and mobile development for clients in the public affairs, advocacy, government, and corporate sectors. The firm publishes “Congress in Your Pocket” suite of mobile apps.

Cohen is the author of Modern Political Campaigns: How Professionalism, Technology, and Speed Have Revolutionized Elections, published in 2021. A second edition featuring a new chapter on artificial intelligence will be released in fall 2025.

Beginning his 25-year bipartisan career at The Gallup Organization as research director, Cohen later served as vice president of public affairs for GOP presidential pollster Tony Fabrizio, then as Microsoft’s Washington, D.C., polling team lead for Democratic presidential pollster Mark Penn, and most recently as managing director at Purple Strategies.

Cohen has been interviewed on campaigns, elections, and political research by The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, CNN, Fox News, NPR, Newsy, RealClearPolitics, VICE News, Yahoo News, and other video, audio, and print media.

He is a triple alumnus of the University of Florida, where he earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in political science and mass communication, and was inducted into the student leadership Hall of Fame.

Featured Works

• Modern Political Campaigns: How Professionalism, Technology, and Speed Have Revolutionized Elections, Michael Cohen, Rowman & Littlefield, 2021