Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of Rasmussen Reports. He is a political analyst, author, speaker and, since 1994, an independent public opinion pollster.
Scott founded Rasmussen Reports, LLC in 2003 as a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports provides in-depth data, news coverage and commentary on political, business, economic and lifestyle topics at RasmussenReports.com, America’s most visited public opinion polling site.
“If it’s in the news, it’s in our polls” is more than a company slogan; it’s the way Scott runs his business. Polling topics are inspired by the day’s headlines, not dictated by any client or special interest group. As the influential Washington publication The Politico puts it, Rasmussen Reports is "an organization with fast zeitgeist reflexes."
Scott and his firm have developed a reputation for delivering reliable, newsworthy and actionable public opinion data. National political commentator Michael Barone calls him “one of America’s most innovative pollsters.” Pat Caddell and Doug Schoen, pollsters for Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, say that Scott has an “unchallenged record for both integrity and accuracy.” The Wall Street Journal proclaims that "Mr. Rasmussen is today's leading insurgent pollster" and "a key player in the contact sport of politics."
Scott speaks regularly at events and with the media, translating poll numbers into meaningful analysis and commentary about current events, underlying trends and the questions that Americans are curious about. He is a frequent guest on Fox News, CNBC, BBC and other major media outlets. He also has appeared on The Colbert Report on Comedy Central.
Highlighting Rasmussen Reports' increasing presence in the water cooler environment of many Americans, it's even been mentioned on popular television shows like The West Wing, The Tonight Show and Gossip Girl .
Scott is the author of Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System and In Search of Self-Governance and has had several columns published in the Wall Street Journal. Additionally, his work has appeared in USA Today , The Washington Post , The Los Angeles Times , The Boston Globe , Investor' s Business Daily , The Christian Science Monitor and other major publications.
Accuracy and stability are hallmarks of the Rasmussen tracking polls. In 2008, Rasmussen projected Obama would win by a 52% to 46% margin and the final results were 53% to 46%. In 2004, Rasmussen was within half a percentage point of the actual vote totals earned by both Bush and Kerry.
Slate.com ’s Mickey Kaus declared earlier this year, “If you have a choice between Rasmussen and, say, the prestigious N.Y. Times, go with Rasmussen.”
Scott did his first radio commercial at the age of seven and considers a career highlight the opportunity to work closely with hockey legend Gordie Howe. Scott and his father also founded the cable sports network ESPN. They sold their interest in 1984.
Follow Scott on Twitter and Facebook. He may be booked for speaking engagements through Premiere Speakers Bureau.
