Denise Baron

Dr. Denise Baron is a political psychologist and strategist with a PhD from the London School of Economics. She has overseen polling, insight, and communications programmes for progressive political campaigns in the US, UK, and other European countries. Denise’s political experience began in her hometown of Kankakee, Illinois, where her father was a Republican city council member for over 30 years, and she went on to work on Democratic congressional campaigns in Indiana and Colorado as well as advocacy campaigns on issues like gun violence and healthcare.

Since moving to the UK in 2015, Denise has worked for the Liberal Democrats and the People’s Vote campaign, while also consulting for campaigns, foundations, and polling firms in the US. She currently works for the political consultancy Public First in London. Denise earned her PhD in political psychology and quantitative research methods from the London School of Economics during the turbulent years that included the fallout following the Brexit referendum, the 2019 General Election, and the Covid pandemic. Denise’s work on political campaigns has included everything from volunteer recruitment and fundraising to polling and speech writing. Her academic research focuses on the underlying forces that shape our political attitudes and voting decisions, and she began this project on national nostalgia in 2015 before we knew how influential the idea to “Make America Great Again” would be. Denise also provides commentary on US elections in British media.

Denise is currently writing a book with her collaborator, Sandra Obradović.