Mark Penn, an influential politico who has been dubbed the “king of polling,” announced his plans to gift a portion of his personal collection of polls to establish the Society of Presidential Pollsters within GW’s Graduate School of Political Management.
In an interview with The Hatchet from his office in downtown D.C. Friday afternoon, Penn said he plans to donate polls from 1994 to 2000, when he served as the presidential pollster for President Bill Clinton.
Penn joined Clinton’s administration in 1995 after the Democrats faced heavy losses during the 1994 midterm elections. Penn is credited with creating a campaign strategy that helped clinch the White House for Clinton in 1996. He was also part of the team that crafted Clinton’s response to the Monica Lewinsky scandal and impeachment trial. Penn also worked with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Hillary Clinton during her Senate and presidential campaigns.
Penn did not know when the polls would be available as he is still working with Clinton to discuss which polls should be included as well as when this data would be available. Often, presidential polling data is not released until decades after the president leaves the White House.
“From our perspective, this gift will create a significant opportunity for GW students to explore and understand how opinion polling is used in formulating public policies,” Dean of Graduate School of Political Management Christopher Arterton said. “And, the existence of the Penn Archives and a society of presidential pollsters will serve to highlight the unique opportunities available to GW students.”
