John McLaughlin is an American

pollster An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll, is a survey (human research), human research survey of public opinion from a particular sampling (statistics), sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...

known for his work for conservative politicians. He has worked for US President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

for over a decade, including on his election campaigns in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Career

John McLaughlin began his career in polling by working for

Arthur J. Finkelstein Arthur Jay Finkelstein (May 18, 1945 – August 18, 2017) was a New York state-based Republican Party (GOP) consultant who worked for conservative and right-wing candidates in the United States, Canada, Israel, Central Europe, and Eastern Europe ...

in the 1980s. He then created an independent polling firm with

Tony Fabrizio Anthony Fabrizio (born 1960) is an American Republican pollster and strategist. The principal in Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, Fabrizio was the pollster for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and 2024 presidential campaign, former Senator ...

, and soon after established his own firm, McLaughlin & Associates. In 2002 he was hired to work for the UK Conservative Party. Other past clients include Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

. McLaughlin also worked on then-

House majority leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

Eric Cantor Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2014. A Republican, Cantor served as House Mino ...

's 2014 re-election campaign, and produced polls suggesting that Cantor was comfortably ahead in primary campaigning. Cantor lost the Republican primary in an upset, and McLaughlin's polls were off by 45 points from the actual result. ''New York'' magazine reported that McLaughlin was "notorious for producing rosy polling data on behalf of his clients."

Work for Donald Trump

John McLaughlin first worked for

in 2011, when Trump was considering running for president. The two were introduced by

Dick Morris Richard Samuel Morris (born November 28, 1948) is an American author, commentator, and former political consultant. A friend and advisor to Bill Clinton during his time as Governor of Arkansas and since his 1978 run, Morris became a political ...

, and McLaughlin aided Trump in making plans for a possible campaign. McLaughlin subsequently worked on Trump's

, and

presidential campaigns. In 2016, it was reported that McLaughlin focused his campaign efforts on New York state. By the 2020 election, ''The Hill'' deemed McLaughlin and his brother, Jim, "Trump's most trusted pollsters". For the 2024 election, McLaughlin & Associates were one of two companies that conducted polls for Trump.

Career

Work for Donald Trump

References

Further reading