About

Public Opinion Strategies is a survey research company specializing in corporate, public policy and litigation research, with offices in Washington, Denver and Los Angeles. Since our founding in 1991, we have completed more than 10,000 research projects and interviewed more than 4 million Americans across the United States. The projects have ranged in scope from neighborhood studies to national samples in all 50 states. Internationally, we have completed research projects in Albania, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Guam, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Venezuela, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. As our roots are in political campaign management, our research is focused on producing information that compels decisions - and then results.

Here’s who we are not: a passive participant that simply produces numbers.

  • We are strategic partners.
  • We use data to make decisions.
  • We don’t hesitate to have an opinion, make a judgment, and then live or die by the results.

Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, our nationwide presence is achieved through our strategically sited offices in California and Colorado. Ten partners and two Vice Presidents conduct research throughout the country on a wide array of campaigns and issues. About half of our research is conducted in the realm of public affairs - there isn’t an issue facing our country that we haven’t explored. The other half of our work continues to be dedicated to winning elections - from City Council to the Presidential level - and we’ve done so at an unparalleled success rate.

Across both political and public affairs research, as our tag line suggests, we work with our clients “Turning Questions into Answers.”

Bloggers

Robert Autry (rob@pos.org)

Rob Autry is a Partner of Public Opinion Strategies, a national political and public affairs survey research firm whose clients include leading political figures, Fortune 500 companies and major associations. Rob serves as a pollster and political strategist for numerous mayors, state legislators, statewide officeholders, and Members of Congress, including the former Republican House Majority Leader.

In the 2006 elections, Rob was the pollster for two open seat Republican Congressional victories – Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN-6) and Congressman David Davis (TN-1). Rob also polled for independent expenditure efforts in over a dozen swing Congressional Districts on behalf of the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee

Glen Bolger (glen@pos.org or @posglen on Twitter)

Glen Bolger is one of the Republican Party’s leading political strategists and pollsters. He is a partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, a national political and public affairs survey research firm whose clients include leading political figures, Fortune 500 companies, and major associations. Public Opinion Strategies has 18 U.S. Senators, eight governors, and more than 40 Members of Congress as clients.

Roll Call newspaper, a newspaper that covers Capitol Hill, noted Glen “has quickly emerged as the pollster of choice for House and Senate Republicans.”

Alex Bratty (alex@pos.org)

Alex Bratty is a Vice President at Public Opinion Strategies, a leading national political and public affairs survey research firm.

Since joining POS in September 2003, Alex has managed hundreds of qualitative and quantitative projects.  Alex’s research experience extends to such varied issues as corporate brand/image, media testing, crisis management, health care, Medicare, education, litigation/tort reform, education, the environment and energy.

Jim Burton (jim@pos.org)

Jim Burton is a Vice President at Public Opinion Strategies, a leading national political and public affairs research firm. Since joining the firm in January 2002, he has worked on more than 800 research projects. Besides managing research projects, Jim is responsible for the training of the firms project directors, is the liaison with its phone centers and other outside vendors.

Jim’s work experience includes some of the most competitive political races in the country, as well as corporate and non-profit work. In 2006, some of the projects he managed included the research for Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, one of only two women in the Republican freshman class; Representative Jon Porter, one of the Democrats’ top targets, multiple projects for the National Republican Congressional Committee’s independent expenditure effort; and Senator John Ensign’s re-election campaign. He has conducted research in 42 states and the District of Columbia, as well as Puerto Rico, Guam and Iraq. Last year he also managed post election research for BIPAC (Business and Industry Political Action Committee), one of the nation’s largest organizations made up of small businesses who support pro-business candidates.

Elizabeth Harrington (liz@pos.org)

Since joining POS in 1998, the major focus of Elizabeth’s work has been public affairs and public policy research, managing over 20 million dollars of both qualitative and quantitative research projects. Elizabeth’s research experience extends to a variety of issues such as health care, Medicare, Medicaid, children’s issues, crisis management, mergers & acquisitions, litigation/tort reform, corporate image research, media testing and public education campaigns.

Matthew Jason (matt@pos.org)

Matthew Jason is the Director of West Coast Operations for Public Opinion Strategies. Jason has worked for Public Opinion Strategies for over eight years.  During that time, he has overseen the data collection, and assisted with the analysis on, more than 700 research projects.  More than 250,000 total interviews have been completed under his supervision of these research projects.

Jason has also been personally involved with nearly 100 California statewide surveys conducted on behalf of clients as varied as the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the California Farm Bureau Federation, the California Republican Party, the Insurance Information Network of California and the Administrative Office of the Court of California.  When it comes to elective offices, Jason has been involved with research projects in 45 of California’s 80 Assembly Districts, 18 of California’s 40 Senate Districts, and 24 of California’s 53 Congressional Districts.

Stephen M. Kinney (smksurvey@gmail.com)

Stephen M. Kinney is a partner of Public Opinion Strategies, L.L.C., one of the nation’s premier political and public affairs survey research firms. His institutional knowledge, critical insight, and expertise in survey analyses contribute to his reputation as a highly respected pollster and strategist on the current political and public affairs scene.

Since 1991, in his home state of California, Steve Kinney has been involved at least once in every statewide candidate election in the state and for many offices, such as Governor, has been involved multiple times. He has also polled for many of the most controversial ballot measures which have appeared on the California ballot. In legislative polling, Kinney has conducted research in 52 of the state’s 80 assembly districts and 22 of the state’s 40 senate districts. Whether on behalf of individual candidates, the Republican caucus, or independent organizations concerned with the outcome of the elections, Kinney has been involved in virtually every competitive state legislative race in the last decade.

Kinney has also conducted extensive research in Oregon as the pollster for gubernatorial campaigns in both 2002 and 2006, and he has also conducted research across the country in other states as diverse as Arizona, Hawaii, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas.

Patrick Lanne (patrick@pos.org)

Patrick Lanne is a Partner at Public Opinion Strategies and is based in upstate New York.  Called by The New York Times, “the leading Republican polling company,” Public Opinion Strategies currently represents seventeen U.S. Senators, eight Governors, and over 50 Members of Congress.

In the 2006 elections, Patrick polled for three winning statewide initiative campaigns, helped five legislative caucuses defend their majority and completed research for several successful state and local officials.  He polled for state party organizations in Indiana, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Nicole McCleskey (nicole@pos.org)

Nicole McCleskey is a Partner with Public Opinion Strategies, a leading national political, public affairs, and trial consulting research firm. Since joining the firm in 1998, Nicole has directed the research for hundreds of individual projects covering a wide spectrum of opinion research of both a quantitative and qualitative nature.

Based in Albuquerque, NM, Nicole has increasingly focused her attention on Western politics and issues. In the 2006 elections, Nicole polled on behalf of the effort to re-elect Jon Kyl to the U.S. Senate, directed the research for the National Association of Realtors’ multi-million dollar in vestment in campaigns around the country, and was the lead pollster for the Republican State Leadership Committee. In the 2002 and 2004 cycles, Nicole polled in a number of competitive open-seat congressional races and for numerous successful state legislative candidates.

Bill McInturff (bill@pos.org)

Bill McInturff is a partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, a national political and public affairs survey research firm. Since its founding in 1991, the firm has completed more than 4 million interviews with voters and consumers in all fifty states and over a dozen foreign countries, and conducted more than 3,500 focus groups. Called by The New York Times, “the leading Republican polling company,” Public Opinion Strategies currently represents nineteen U.S. Senators, seven governors, and over 40 Members of Congress.

Bill is actively engaged in American politics, conducting national survey research on behalf of the Republican Governors Association. Most recently, Bill served as the lead pollster for John McCain 2008. Bill, along with Peter Hart of Peter D. Hart Research Associates also conducts The NBC News/The Wall Street Journal Poll.

Neil Newhouse (neil@pos.org)

Neil Newhouse is a partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, a national political and public affairs survey research firm whose clients include leading political figures, Fortune 500 companies and major trade associations.

Public Opinion Strategies has been described by the New York Times as “the leading Republican polling company” in the country and the firm was named “Pollster of the Year” by the trade publication “Campaigns and Elections” for its work in the 2002 election cycle.

Gene Ulm (gene@pos.org)

Gene Ulm is one of the Republican Party’s leading political strategists and pollsters. Gene has extensive experience polling on behalf of successful U.S. Senate, gubernatorial, congressional and state legislative campaigns since 1990. His political clients include Members of Congress, mayors, legislative caucuses and business and trade-oriented independent expenditure committees.

In 2004, Gene was the pollster for huge campaign wins including Senator David Vitter of Louisiana, who made history by becoming the first Republican U.S. Senator from Louisiana in all while avoiding a run-off, and Governor Jim Douglas of Vermont, who held his opponent to fewer votes than George W. Bush in one of Kerry’s best states (58.9%).

Lori Weigel (lori@pos.org)

Lori Weigel is a Partner with Public Opinion Strategies, based in the firm’s Colorado office. Public Opinion Strategies’ clients include over 50 Members of Congress, eight governors, 18 U.S. senators and numerous Fortune 500 companies. The firm also conducts corporate image, crisis management and public policy polling for numerous national associations and Fortune 500 companies, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Hospital Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and the National Association of Realtors.

In her 17 years as a pollster, Weigel has directed research efforts for hundreds of political and public affairs campaigns throughout the country, including twice assisting with efforts at the presidential level. She primarily focuses on polling for and against ballot measures. In 2008, she polled for two successful statewide ballot measures: the Clean Water and Legacy Amendment in Minnesota which is the largest conservation finance measure ever in the United States; and the continuation of the Clean Ohio fund, the largest economic generator in Ohio since its inception in 2000. She has polled on numerous other types of issues, including judicial reforms (Colorado), legal reforms (Nevada), stadiums (Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals), education reform, gaming, taxes, and labor issues.