Public Policy Polling
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Polling, Public opinion research |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder | Dean Debnam |
| Headquarters | Raleigh , United States |
Key people | Tom Jensen (director) |
| Owner | Dean Debnam (founder, deceased 2024) |
Public Policy Polling (PPP) is a U.S.-based polling organization with ties to the Democratic Party. Established in 2001 by entrepreneur Dean Debnam, the company operates out of Raleigh, North Carolina. Debnam passed away in 2024. Tom Jensen currently holds the position of director at the firm.
In addition to its political surveys, PPP has explored unusual subjects such as Republican voters' views on Barack Obama's potential inclusion in the Rapture, public opinion regarding a proposed tax targeting hipsters, and the question of whether Ted Cruz could be the Zodiac Killer.
2008
During the 2008 Democratic primary contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, PPP gained recognition for accurately forecasting outcomes in pivotal states including South Carolina and Wisconsin, surpassing many other pollsters. Following the November general election, the Wall Street Journal identified PPP as one of the two most precise polling organizations covering presidential battleground states.
2010
PPP was notable for being the first to indicate Scott Brown leading Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts special Senate election. Brown’s ultimate win corresponded exactly with PPP’s final polling margin, underscoring the firm’s forecasting capabilities.
2011
Politico commended PPP for its precise predictions during the demanding 2011 primaries and special elections, accurately forecasting outcomes in the West Virginia gubernatorial primaries, special elections held in New York and California, as well as all eight recall elections in Wisconsin.
2012
A research conducted by Fordham University identified PPP as the most precise pollster among 28 organizations regarding the presidential national popular vote. This recognition applied both to PPP's independent efforts and its collaborations with Daily Kos and SEIU. During the final week before the election, PPP accurately forecasted the winner in all 19 states it surveyed, along with correctly predicting every U.S. Senate and gubernatorial race it covered.
2014
According to political analytics firm YouGov, PPP’s gubernatorial polling demonstrated the smallest average error margin compared to other national firms that conducted polls in at least five gubernatorial contests within the month preceding the election.
2016
In the 2016 Presidential Election, PPP’s final polling failed to capture crucial swing states such as New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Additionally, their polls underestimated President Donald Trump’s advantage in Ohio and inaccurately projected a victory for Hillary Clinton in Florida.
Methodology and reception
PPP conducts its polls utilizing Interactive Voice Response (IVR), an automated survey technique also employed by organizations such as SurveyUSA and Rasmussen Reports. Journalist Nate Cohn has criticized this approach as lacking scientific rigor. In 2013, Cohn characterized PPP as leaning liberal. Statistician Nate Silver observed a modest Democratic bias of approximately 1% for PPP as of January 2022. At that time, Silver’s platform, FiveThirtyEight, assigned PPP an A− rating within its pollster evaluations.