McCarthy Strategic Solutions

What McCarthy Strategic Solutions does

McCarthy Strategic Solutions (legal entity McCarthy Strategic Solutions, LLC) is a Kentucky-based government relations and lobbying firm founded in May 2005 by John McCarthy. Headquartered at 113 West Main Street in Frankfort, the state capital, the firm specializes in providing bipartisan advocacy services to clients operating in Kentucky, with selective federal engagement through the Kentucky Delegation and national governors' associations. Its client base of more than 130 organizations spans healthcare (e.g., Pfizer, DaVita, University of Louisville Health, Kentucky Optometric Association), technology (Meta, Charter Communications, Workday), education (Centre College, University of Louisville, Kentucky State University), and a broad set of business, industry, and utilities clients (Ford, Brown Forman, Churchill Downs, Norfolk Southern, YUM! Brands). The firm also maintains discrete verticals in utilities and victim advocacy.

The firm sells nine core service lines spanning state legislative lobbying, executive branch lobbying, federal lobbying, grassroots development, PAC compliance, political consulting, public affairs, public policy campaigns, and multi-state coordination. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; engagements are structured as professional services, typically on retainer or project basis. Distribution is direct through partners and principals based in Frankfort, and the go-to-market is relationship-driven, anchored in the personal networks of founder John McCarthy and a bipartisan team of principals and strategic partners with prior roles in gubernatorial administrations, legislative leadership offices, and agency cabinets. The firm cites more than 250 years of combined government relations experience across 14+ team members.

Recent activity (2023–2025) includes the hire of Jeff Harper (ex-Kentucky Farm Bureau) as principal, a strategic partnership with former Kentucky Beverages Association executive director Sara Massey, the addition of a Director of Communications and Client Experience, the founding of a Director of Operations role staffed by an ex-Capitol Hill operative, and the promotion of Megan Arnold to principal. Founder John McCarthy was elected Kentucky's National Committeeman on the Republican National Committee in August 2023, and the firm marked its 20th anniversary in May 2025. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional capital, no parent company, and no subsidiaries.

Name

McCarthy Strategic Solutions

Legal name

McCarthy Strategic Solutions, LLC

Website

https://mssgov.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

McCarthy Strategic Solutions is a Frankfort, Kentucky-based government relations and lobbying firm founded in 2005, providing bipartisan state, executive, federal, and multi-state advocacy services to 130+ clients across healthcare, technology, education, and business/industry verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Relations and Lobbying Services

NAICS

Political Organizations (813940), Public Relations Agencies (54182)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

Keywords

• Government relations services
• Legislative lobbying
• Executive branch advocacy
• Political consulting
• Public affairs services

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfort

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Relations and Lobbying Services: Professional consulting services for government relations, legislative lobbying, and strategic advocacy for clients in Kentucky. Services are provided to businesses, healthcare organizations, educational institutions, and industry associations seeking to influence legislation and regulation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

McCarthy Strategic Solutions is a government relations and lobbying firm that represents corporations, healthcare organizations, educational institutions, industry associations, and other clients before the Kentucky General Assembly, executive branch, and Kentucky federal delegation. The firm develops and executes strategic advocacy plans that include legislative lobbying, executive branch lobbying, federal lobbying, grassroots campaigns, political action committee compliance, political consulting, and public affairs.

Product overview

McCarthy Strategic Solutions is a government relations and lobbying firm offering a comprehensive suite of advocacy services rather than a technology product platform. The firm provides bi-partisan legislative lobbying, executive branch lobbying, federal legislative lobbying, grassroots development, political action committee services, political consulting, public affairs development, public policy campaigns, and multi-state services. These service offerings work together to help clients navigate government relations at state and federal levels in Kentucky.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bi-Partisan Legislative Lobbying State-level legislative lobbying services in Kentucky including access to key decision makers, strategic plan development and execution, bill drafting and monitoring, testimony preparation, committee and agency monitoring, vote counting, and daily reporting, delivered on a bipartisan basis.
• Bi-Partisan Executive Branch Lobbying Executive branch lobbying covering administrative regulation drafting and comments, regulatory testimony, boards and commissions advocacy, procurement lobbying, and policy development with Kentucky's executive agencies.
• Bi-Partisan Federal Legislative Lobbying Federal legislative lobbying delivered through engagement with the Kentucky Delegation, the Governor's Washington D.C. Office, the National Governors Association, Republican Governors Association, Democratic Governors Association, and other national organizations.
• Grassroots Development and Management Grassroots campaign services including member key contact programs, phone advocacy, letter-writing campaigns, social media message development, member training, and organizational formation to mobilize stakeholders behind client legislative priorities.
• Political Action Committee Services Compliance services for political action committees, including formation, administration, and ongoing regulatory compliance for client PACs operating in Kentucky.
• Political Consulting Political environment assessment, strategic participation planning, contribution compliance, process education, and political party involvement guidance for clients seeking to navigate the Kentucky political landscape.
• Public Affairs Development Public affairs services covering charitable contributions strategy, message development, polling and polling analysis, earned media coordination, press conferences, and meeting planning for clients in Kentucky.
• Public Policy Campaigns Comprehensive public policy campaigns that combine campaign plan development, television, radio, and mail coordination, coalition building, focus groups, and media creation strategy to move legislative and regulatory outcomes in Kentucky.
• Multi State Services Multi-state lobbying services covering national policy campaigns, lobbyist recruitment and screening across states, and national message development for clients needing coordinated advocacy beyond Kentucky.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully passed Marsy's Law constitutional amendment for crime victims' rights (2018 and 2020)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Major international law firm with a substantial federal lobbying and policy advocacy practice. Provides relevant comparison for the firm-level capabilities MSS aspires to build out in Washington, including federal legislative and executive branch lobbying.
• Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck: National law and lobbying firm with one of the largest state-government-affairs practices. Comparable across federal/state lobbying, executive branch advocacy, and policy campaigns, though delivered through a much larger, multi-office platform.
• Holland & Knight: Large national law firm with a sizeable government affairs and public policy practice serving both states and federal government. Comparable federal lobbying capability but operating across all 50 states, in contrast to MSS's Kentucky-anchored practice.
• BGR Group: Large bipartisan Washington-based government affairs and public relations firm. Provides a comparable suite of federal and state lobbying plus public affairs, but at materially larger scale; competes for the same national accounts that MSS pursues through its multi-state services.

Direct peers

• Cornerstone Government Affairs: Bipartisan federal and state government relations firm. Comparable in operating model: partner-led, relationship-driven advocacy with state-level capability. Highly relevant peer given MSS's federal lobbying expansion and broad bipartisan positioning.
• MultiState Associates: Multi-state government affairs and lobbying firm with capabilities very similar to MSS's Multi-State Services offering. Comparable in providing state-level lobbying, federal lobbying, and association management across numerous jurisdictions; directly competes for the same Fortune 500 multi-state contracts MSS pitches.
• Thoroughbred Group (Kentucky): Kentucky-focused government relations consultancy serving corporate and association clients in Frankfort. Direct head-to-head competitor for the same Kentucky legislative advocacy RFPs MSS wins.
• RunSwitch Public Relations: Louisville- and Frankfort-based public affairs and PR firm with state government relations practice. Overlaps with MSS's Public Affairs Development and Public Policy Campaigns service lines for Kentucky-based corporate and association clients.
• Capitol Strategies Group (Kentucky): Kentucky-based lobbying and government affairs firm. Directly competes with MSS for the same Frankfort-based state legislature clients across healthcare, education, and business verticals.

Emerging players

• Three Point Strategies (Kentucky): Frankfort-based public affairs and government relations firm. Provides a closely comparable Kentucky-only advocacy model with similar association and corporate clients; relevant emerging competitor for the same government affairs RFPs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/mssgov
• Facebookfacebook.com/mssgov

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about McCarthy Strategic Solutions