With the August Top Two election drawing near, the team at the Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI) is pleased to announce today that we are expanding our public opinion research to the local level, beginning with two citywide surveys of Seattle voters this year. The first survey will go into the field next week, with results expected by the end of the week, while the second survey will be conducted in October ahead of the November 2021 general election.
NPI will publicly release results regarding voters’ preferences from the first survey in the following races:
- Mayor of Seattle
- Seattle City Attorney
- Seattle City Council Position #8 (At Large)
- Seattle City Council Position #9 (At Large)
Our October pre-general election survey will include additional contests, specifically Compassion Seattle’s Charter Amendment 29 (which is expected to qualify for the ballot) and Seattle School Board races.
We are very excited about this project. Our region needs more credible, independent public opinion research, and NPI is stepping up to meet that need.
Our planned surveys of the Seattle electorate will allow us to take the pulse of the people ahead of the deadline to return ballots and bring credible data back to the public that everyone can benefit from.
NPI’s statewide public opinion research program began in the mid-2010s and has been going strong ever since.
NPI’s October 2020 statewide survey, conducted by Public Policy Polling of Raleigh, North Carolina, correctly foreshadowed the victors in every single contest, from President and Governor to Secretary of State and Treasurer, and even Superintendent of Public Instruction and State Supreme Court.
NPI’s more recent May 2021 statewide poll (also conducted by PPP) found President Joe Biden with a 54% approval rating, Democratic U.S. Senator Patty Murray sixteen points ahead of Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley, and broad support (60%) for the American Rescue Plan. These and additional findings are available right here on The Cascadia Advocate in this tag archive.
Our Seattle surveys will be conducted by California-based Change Research, which is celebrating its fourth anniversary this month.
Organized as a Public Benefit Corporation, Change Research is focused on providing fast, affordable, and accurate technology-based polling across the country. The firm is the official pollster of Crooked Media’s Pod Save America, KQED, California’s National Public Radio subsidiary and the most-listened to public radio station in the US and CNBC, the nation’s premiere financial network.
Change Research recently surveyed voters in New York City about the mayoral race there for New Generation of Leadership and found projected nominee Eric Adams with a lead. The New York Times subsequently spoke to Change’s Ben Greenfield about the firm’s work in New York City for a recent article about the Democratic primary, the first primary in city history to utilize ranked choice voting.
We’re really happy to have the opportunity to collaborate with Change Research on our local polling expansion. We have been impressed with Change’s work for other clients across the country. They have a track record for accuracy, and they are committed to using an innovative, data science oriented approach to measuring public opinion. That aligns perfectly with our values and our ethos as a strategy center committed to insightful research and imaginative advocacy.
Our research projects with Public Policy Polling, meanwhile, will continue. We love working with them and are excited to continue our long business relationship.
NPI is not aligned with any candidate competing in this year’s local elections and does not endorse candidates. None of the campaigns presently active in Seattle will have any involvement in the design, execution, or release of our surveys.
Each of our findings will be unveiled here on The Cascadia Advocate, so if you’re interested in the results, be sure to check back here next week.
