Results from Inaugural Grinnell College National Poll

The results from the first Grinnell College National Poll (GCNP), fielded over Labor Day weekend 2018, are now available. The poll examines public attitudes toward American political leaders, institutions, and major areas of public policy such as immigration.

The poll provides Grinnell College students and faculty with the chance to analyze polling data fresh from the field in the run up to the 2018 midterm elections to better understand the political landscape of the United States. Students in the short course Political Polling (SST-295) were working with the data just days after it was collected.

“It’s extremely exciting for students who study politics to analyze new data on voter attitudes just months before an election,” says Associate Professor Peter Hanson. “This is the kind of project that demonstrates the unique opportunities that come with a Grinnell education."

The polling project is led by Barbara Trish, professor of political science and director of the Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs, International Relations, and Human Rights; Hanson, associate professor of political science; and Xavier Escandell, associate professor of anthropology and director of the Data Analysis and Social Inquiry Lab (DASIL).

Learn more about the findings of the GCNP by listening to Hanson and nationally-renowned pollster Ann Selzer, who conducted the poll, discuss it on Iowa Public Radio’s “River to River.”