How pollsters with close Alabama ties helped propel Trump into the White House WRITTEN BY CLIFF SIMS ON NOVEMBER 14, 2016 AT 8:34 PM CST Pollsters make a living being public opinion experts. But 2016 has been a tough year for the polling industry after the overwhelming majority of the “experts” were flat out wrong on two of the world’s most significant events — Brexit in the U.K. and the presidential election in the U.S. However, a polling firm with close ties to Alabama correctly called Presidentelect Donald J. Trump’s improbable victory, and their insight helped propel him to the White House. McLaughlin & Associates is a public opinion research firm based in New York, but the brothers who lead the company — John and Jim McLaughlin — have been the most influential Republican pollsters in Alabama for years. “Back in the last century, I worked for Gov. Fob James when we had a 20point comefrombehind win for governor in 1994,” John told Yellowhammer. “Then I worked for Jeff Sessions in his first race for senate and subsequently Senator Shelby. Since then Jim has carried on the work for Senator Shelby with a big win in the primary this year. He also works for Congressmen (Mike) Rogers and (Robert) Aderholt, among others.” A closer look at the firm’s client list reveals a who’s who of Alabama politics: Governor Bob Riley, Attorney General Bill Pryor (who is now on Trump’s short list for the Supreme Court,), Senate President Pro Ten Del Marsh, Attorney General Luther Strange, Lt. Governor Steve Windom, the Business Council of Alabama, and dozens of state house and senate members. Perhaps most notably, Jim McLaughlin was the pollster behind Republicans’ successful effort to take control of the Alabama legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. During this election cycle, both McLaughlin brothers were involved in different aspects of the Trump effort. John was the internal pollster for the campaign and Jim worked for a proTrump Super PAC. This gave their firm the opportunity to play an outsized role in the ultimate victory, but also presented some challenges. Because FEC rules 11/15/2016 How pollsters with close Alabama ties helped propel Trump into the… Read
