Polling and Focus Groups
How campaigns use internal polling and focus groups to test messages, track the race, and make strategic decisions.
Internal Polling: The Campaign's Eyes
Public polls tell you who is winning. Internal polls tell the campaign what to do about it. Internal campaign polling is more detailed, more frequent, and more strategically focused than public polls. A campaign pollster asks not just 'who will you vote for?' but 'what issues matter most to you?', 'what do you think of the following messages?', and 'how do you feel about each candidate's character?'
Benchmark polls are conducted early to establish the campaign's starting position. Tracking polls are conducted nightly in the final weeks to detect movement. Dial testing shows real-time reactions to speeches and ads, with participants turning a dial to indicate approval or disapproval as they watch. This data guides every major campaign decision: which issues to emphasize, which attacks to deploy, which voters to target, and when to shift strategy.
