Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Paul Mitchell

83. Paul Mitchell

Paul Mitchell is Sacramento’s favorite political data guy, particularly during election years. The vice president of Political Data, Inc., aka PDI, and the owner of Redistricting Partners, which tracks the work of California’s independent redistricting commission, Mitchell is known for uncovering California election trends and communicating them in an engaging way. That is no small feat; election data can be seriously boring. But Mitchell makes it interesting with pithy quotes and colorful electoral maps. For decades, PDI gathered and analyzed campaign data for both parties, but went Democrat-only in 2021, which makes sense in a deep blue California. Although his focus is still primarily on California, he has in recent years also done redistricting work in 14 states and for the state and city of New York. Mitchell and his wife, Jodi Hicks, (No. 11) form one of the Capitol’s most potent (and high-profile) power couples.

Updated Aug. 7, 2024