The partisan divide between cities and less urbanized areas is growing into one of the defining characteristics of Massachusetts politics. The suburbs are often held up as the place where […]
Steve Koczela
Steve Koczela is the President of The MassINC Polling Group, where he has grown the organization from its infancy to a nationally known and respected polling provider. During the 2014 election cycle, MPG conducted election polling for WBUR, the continuation of a three-year partnership. Koczela again led the endeavor, producing polls which came within one point of the margin in both the Massachusetts gubernatorial and U.S. Senate Elections. He was also lead writer for Poll Vault, WBUR’s political reporting section during the 2014 Election Cycle.
He has led survey research programs for the U.S. Department of State in Iraq, in key states for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, and has conducted surveys and polls on behalf of many private corporations. Koczela brings a deep understanding of the foundations of public opinion and a wide ranging methodological expertise. He earned U.S. Department of State recognition for his leading edge work on sample evaluation in post conflict areas using geospatial systems.
Koczela is frequent guest on WBUR as well as many other news and talk programs in Massachusetts and elsewhere. His polling analysis is often cited in local, state, and national media outlets. He currently serves as President of the New England Chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (NEAAPOR). Koczela holds a Master’s degree in Marketing Research from the University of Wisconsin and is a veteran of the war in Iraq.
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Outsider act of Warren, Patrick hard to follow
To outsiders looking to make a splash in Massachusetts politics, Deval Patrick and Elizabeth Warren are guiding lights. Each ascended as political novices from relative unknown to statewide officeholders, winning […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Back Story
No good data on heroin epidemic
A correction has been made to this story and the accompanying chart. Information on the correction is available at the bottom of the story. Gov. Deval Patrick declared it a […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
State salary numbers don’t tell full story
To read the headlines in the two Boston papers last week would lead one to think that government salaries are spiraling out of control: “More than 1,000 state employees get […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Where are the most “swingers” in Massachusetts?
Read the original post on massincpolling.com Democrats have had a lock on the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation (as well as every statewide office) for some time now, with the exception of […]
Posted inPolitics
The blue-red color divide in Massachusetts
On a national political map, Massachusetts is reliably blue, a Democratic stronghold. The congressional delegation is all Democrat, the State House is overwhelmingly Democrat, and every constitutional officer is a […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Gubernatorial candidates scramble for money
Very real differences are emerging between the candidates for governor in terms of their ability to raise money from voters in Massachusetts who could actually vote for them in November. […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Small donors: nice sound bite, not much money
It has become something of a cliché for political campaigns to tout, when announcing the month or quarter or year’s fundraising totals, the large percentage of donations from small donors […]
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
Twitter doesn’t have Pollsters running scared
Excuse the pun, but the polling world is all “atwitter” about a University of Indiana professor’s claim that the social media platform Twitter will “undermine the polling industry” and that […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Gomez: No tea for me, thanks.
In the 2010 special US Senate election, enthusiasm from the nascent Tea Party movement helped propel Scott Brown past Martha Coakley. In the 2013 special election, the Tea Party is […]
Posted inPolitics
Only some opinions count
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEYS, done well, offer people an opportunity to speak to their leaders in an organized way. But the hunt for Electoral College votes tends to […]
Posted inPolitics
A representative sample
as we approach election day, one can scarcely turn on the news or pick up a newspaper without reading about polls. Polls in the run-up to election day tend to […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Does religion matter in the Brown-Warren race?
When the debate over the Blunt Amendment was underway, I received a number of calls from reporters looking for any insight on how the Massachusetts Senate race might be breaking […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
New Hampshire push poll law gets it wrong
Every four years, Granite State residents are bombarded with calls from political pollsters, gauging the state of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. Then, but a few months later, the shelling begins […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Chasing the middle class
the 2012 massachusetts Senate election is shaping up as a competition for the hearts and minds (and votes) of the Bay State middle class. Both US Sen. Scott Brown and […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Mass. consumer confidence rebounds from 2011 lows
Consumer confidence in Massachusetts is on the rise, an indication that the state’s residents are starting to feel the benefits of the economic recovery and that incumbent politicians may have […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Poll data indicates challenges for Brown
This fall’s Senate election is shaping up more like a replay of the statewide election at the end of 2010 than the one at the beginning. US Sen. Scott Brown’s […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Baker’s Brown deficit
Comparing last week’s election to the January special election for US Senate provides an interesting look at how Scott Brown was successful while Charlie Baker came up short. Baker’s loss […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Reading between the (poll) lines
Over the last month or so, we have seen a steady stream of new polling data in the Massachusetts gubernatorial election. In reading these polls, there seem to be two […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Tea Party for real in Massachusetts
For those who continue to view the Tea Party as a fringe group of “nutcases” or the butt of an easy political joke, take notice. The Tea Party has a […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Polls suggest little change in gov race
Following last night’s release of the Suffolk poll, you may have read this morning about how Patrick is increasing his lead, or Baker is slipping, or some other story about […]