David Doak helped define the modern era of Democratic political television advertising. Growing up on a farm in Missouri, the son of a teacher, he trained as a lawyer and served as both a prosecutor and public defender before entering politics as a campaign worker and manager.

Doak got his start working for President Carter in 1976 and 1980, launching a career that would take him to the top of Democratic politics. He served as day-to-day manager of Charles Robb's successful 1981 campaign for Governor of Virginia, and in 1982 managed Mark White's upset victory in the Texas gubernatorial race -- two consequential wins that established him as a rising force in Democratic campaign management.

After a cycle working with Bob Squier to learn the media business, Doak co-founded a political consulting firm in 1985 with Pat Caddell and Bob Shrum. The firm's first client was Jerry Baliles, whom they helped elect Governor of Virginia -- a win Doak has credited as a defining moment in the firm's early history. The partnership grew into a dominant force in Democratic politics, crafting strategy and advertising for some of the most significant campaigns of the era: Bob Casey's campaign for Governor of Pennsylvania, Alan Cranston's reelection to the U.S. Senate in California, Barbara Mikulski's historic Senate victory in Maryland, David Dinkins's election as Mayor of New York City, and Dick Gephardt's 1988 presidential campaign, including his surprise victory in the Iowa caucuses. After Caddell's departure, Doak and Shrum continued as Doak, Shrum and Associates for nearly a decade.

After the dissolution of the firm, Doak founded Doak Carrier O'Donnell, which scored major victories including the election of Governor Gray Davis in California and Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio and helped launch the congressional career of Senator Chris Van Hollen.  Known among peers for his cautious, steady, and deliberate approach to the craft and for an encyclopedic understanding of the painstaking process of writing, producing, and placing television advertising, Doak earned the respect of colleagues and competitors alike across four decades at the top of Democratic media consulting.