Hamburger Group Creative is a for-profit communications firm that works for Democratic candidates and left-of-center issue campaigns and ballot initiatives. ¹ It was founded in 1994 by Martin Hamburger, a left-of-center communications professional. ²

Founding and History

Hamburger Group Creative was founded in 1994 by Martin Hamburger, a left-of-center communications professional. The company has provided communication services to numerous Democratic electoral campaigns and left-of-center issue campaigns on both the local and federal level. ^{2  1}

Financials and Federal Election Clients

As a private company, Hamburger Group Creative does not have public financial filings. However, there is some financial information available from the Federal Elections Commissions (FEC) concerning federal-level campaign expenditures. According to this information, the firm had four clients during the 2022 and 2024 cycles: Friends of Liz Dahn, with $66,500 in expenditures; Come Together with Don Horan, with $20,167 in expenditures; the Engineers Political Education Committee/International Union of Operating Engineers, with $130,000 in expenditures; and Andy Levin for Congress, with $193,774 in expenditures. This totaled over $410,000 in payments. ³

Liz Dahn was a Democratic primary candidate for Florida’s 13^th Congressional District in 2024. She lost the primary to Whitney Fox who was in turn beaten in the general election by U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL). ⁴

Donald Horan was a candidate who withdrew from the 2024 Democratic primary election for a U.S. Senate seat from Florida. ⁵

Former U.S. Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) won Michigan’s 9^th Congressional District in 2019, having won the seat following the retirement of his father, former U.S. Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI), who had held that office from 1983 to 2019. However, Levin was defeated in the 2024 Democratic primary by Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who would go on to win the general election. ⁶

Organization Philosophy

Hamburger Group Creative is entirely a left-of-center oriented firm. Its founder, Martin Hamburger, jokes in his biography page that “If you’re knee-deep in powder [referring to his being a ski instructor], or neck-deep in Republicans, Martin has you covered.” The group works with Democratic candidates and pushes left-of-center campaign issues, such as drug legalization, organized labor, and automatic voter registration. ^{7  1}

In terms of communications strategy, the group has been characterized as “whimsical,” riffing off the Hamburger name, and has attracted a certain following, particularly in Hawaiian politics. ⁸

Projects and Initiatives

In addition to campaign services for candidates for office, ranging from local sheriff races to federal level offices, Hamburger Group Creative has worked on ballot initiatives and issue area campaigns, including efforts to legalize marijuana, to legalize psilocybin therapy, and to change law enforcement around drugs by promoting treatment rather than punishment. ^{1  9  10  11}

Leadership

As of 2025, Martin Hamburger was the president of Hamburger Group Creative, which he founded in 1994. Hamburger has become known for having a “whimsical” style in politics, encouraging clients to poke fun at themselves and not take themselves too seriously. Hamburger is solidly left-of-center, jokingly noting in his web biography that “If you’re knee-deep in powder [referring to his being a ski instructor], or neck-deep in Republicans, Martin has you covered,” which is a reference to his also being a ski instructor. ^{8  2  7}

Hamburger was the president of the seemingly dormant 501(c)(4) group Empire Results, which was formed in 2022, and then ceased operations that same year, reporting no revenue or expenditures in 2023 before officially closing down. The group identified its purpose as promoting government efficiency, and nearly its entire budget, $2,217,676 out of $2,350,000, was spent on advertising campaigns. These expenses included $111,853 to Hamburger’s firm. ^{12  13}

1. “What We Do.” HGCreative. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://www.hgcreative.com/work/.
2. “Martin Hamburger.” LinkedIn. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-hamburger-a128351/.
3. “Browse Disbursements.” FEC.gov. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&recipient_name=Hamburger+Group+Creative%09&min_date=01%2F01%2F2000&max_date=11%2F25%2F2025. 
4. “Liz Dahan.” Ballotpedia. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Liz_Dahan. 
5. “Donald Horan.” Ballotpedia. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Donald_Horan. 
6. “Andy Levin.” Ballotpedia. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Andy_Levin. 
7. “Who We Are.” HGCreative. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://www.hgcreative.com/about/. 
8. Grube, Nick. “How Martin Hamburger Became A Staple Of Hawaii Politics.” Honolulu Civil Beat. August 8, 2018. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://www.civilbeat.org/2018/08/how-martin-hamburger-became-a-staple-of-hawaii-politics/.
9. “Drug Policy Reform.” HGCreative. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://www.hgcreative.com/project/or-decriminalization/. 
10. “Yes for Psilocybin Therapy.” HGCreative. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://www.hgcreative.com/project/yes-for-psilocybin-therapy/. 
11. “Marijuana Legalization.” HGCreative. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://www.hgcreative.com/project/mt-marijuana-legalization/. 
12. Empire Results. Return from an organization exempt from taxation (Form 990). 2022, Part I, VII.
13. Empire Results. Return from an organization exempt from taxation (Form 990). 2023, Part I,