An automated-pollster aligned with the Republican Party will launch this week in an effort to occupy a space in the data collection arena currently dominated by Democratic outfits such as Public Policy Polling, Politico reported Wednesday.
Harper Polling will officially begin its operations this week, with founder Brock McCleary telling Politico that his outfit will attempt to compete with the likes of PPP. Thanks to interactive voice response technology — a methodology widely known as “robo-polling” that uses automated messages rather than live interviewers to conduct surveys — PPP has established a reputation for its prolific output, churning out hundreds of polls each election cycle covering a vast array of candidates, issues and races.
“The technology is very affordable and very nimble. Having fast, precise polling was very useful for us,” McCleary, the outgoing polling director and deputy executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told Politico. “This is what PPP is and there’s really no competitor.”
Tom Jensen, director of PPP, responded to the Politico report via Twitter on Wednesday, suggesting that Harper’s formation is a sign both of PPP’s strong track record and the dubious results produced by Rasmussen, the best-known GOP robo-pollster.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery: politico.com/story/2012/12/…
— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) December 19, 2012
The new GOP IVR firm symbolizes the fact that the Republican establishment knows Ras is so bad that it’s really not on the same level as PPP
— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) December 19, 2012