Political Analytics: Insights from the 2025 Election

The 2025 U.S. election represents a pivotal moment in the nation’s political trajectory.

The 2025 U.S. election represents a pivotal moment in the nation’s political trajectory. As ballots are cast and results begin to emerge from gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey, special congressional elections, and a key mayoral race in New York City, this discussion will examine the forces that shaped the campaigns, from long-anticipated dynamics to late-breaking developments. Particular attention will be given to the performance of polls, forecasts, and analytic models under the pressures of turnout variation, campaign messaging, and unanticipated events. The conversation will also address which outcomes revealed shifts in voter priorities, partisan strength, and demographic influence.

Event Agenda:

4:00 PM - 4:30 PM - Registration (refreshments available on arrival)
4:30 PM - 4:35 PM - Welcome remarks
4:35 PM - 5:35 PM - Panel
5:35 PM - 5:55 PM - Q&A
6:00 PM - Departure

Panelist will feature leaders from the New York City Mayor's race, the New Jersey Governor's race, political analysts working on key elections.

Moderator:

Greg Wawro, Professor, Department of Political Science; Director, MS Program in Political Analytics

Panelist:

Jackie Burns is a New Jersey political operative and communications expert, and no stranger to tough races. Jackie helped lead Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill to her historic 14-point victory in the 2025 New Jersey Governor’s race, overseeing an expansive portfolio including the campaign’s communications, research, and digital departments.

Jackie got her start on campaigns in 2018 as Sherrill’s communications director, taking down a 12-term Republican incumbent in the largest partisan swing from red to blue in the 2018 cycle. She continued to work for Sherrill both on the campaign and in the official office, serving as campaign manager for Sherrill’s 2022 reelection, where she delivered a 19-point victory. In 2021, Jackie joined Governor Phil Murphy’s successful reelect as Deputy Campaign Manager, the first time in over 40 years a Democratic Governor has won reelection in New Jersey.

Prior to political campaigns, Jackie spent five years on Capitol Hill at the Office of the Historian for the U.S. House of Representatives. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and holds Master’s degrees from Columbia University and the London School of Economics. Jackie continues to lend her political expertise to campaigns, including in 2024 for U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks’ victory in Maryland and the fight to pass Proposition One in New York State.

Bradley Honan, Chief Executive Officer & President.

Bradley is the CEO & President of the Honan Strategy Group – a strategic public opinion research and data analytics company.

Bradley is a recognized and widely quoted expert in leveraging public opinion polling data and digital analytics for strategic planning purposes.

Bradley’s work helps agencies, political candidates, senior government leaders, NGO’s, and C Level business executives at large multinational corporations understand the shifting contours of public opinion and develop actionable go to market strategies.

Bradley’s work in traditional research (quantitative and qualitative) and digital analytics spans over 20 years and has taken him from the Clinton White House to the Boardroom of Corporate America working on behalf of companies such as; American Airlines, Dannon, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Major League Baseball, Nestle, Pepsi, Pfizer, PWC, Starbucks, and Verizon, among others.

In the political arena, Bradley has worked on behalf of; Bill and Hillary Clinton, Tony Blair, Mike Bloomberg, Jon Corzine, the Democratic National Committee, and Silvio Berlusconi, about the state of public opinion and how to best leverage their strengths and address their weaknesses.

In addition, he has advised high level government officials, political candidates, and political parties across the world including in; Colombia, Great Britain, Italy, Israel, Macedonia, South Africa, Ukraine, and Venezuela.

Morris Katz is an ad maker and political strategist. He hates status quo politics and loves long-shots. And he has never backed away from a fight.

As comfortable in Philadelphia union halls as he is in auto shops in Nebraska, Morris is always on the lookout for nontraditional candidates that are willing to take on tough fights.

He was the lead media strategist on Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for Mayor of New York City, helping orchestrate the strategy and making the ads that turned a state assemblyman into a national progressive leader.

In 2024, he was a key advisor behind Dan Osborn’s groundbreaking independent campaign for US Senate in Nebraska, which outperformed the top-of-the-ticket by 14 points. Among the many notches on his belt, Morris is proud to have helped legalize weed in Dallas, defeat a Kansas City Chiefs-backed tax hike, and fortify and expand the Working Families Party bloc in the New York legislature.

For further information, please contact the Political Analytics program at poan-admin [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required and is open until Tuesday, November 11th, 2025.

To obtain additional information about program offerings at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, please contact an Admissions Counselor at inquire [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

If you require closed captioning, sign-language interpretation, or any other disability accommodations, please contact Disability Services, disability [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu, at least 10 days in advance.

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This event is open to individuals irrespective of identity and sex.