Peter D. Hart

Peter D. Hart is a leading analyst of public opinion in the United States. Hart began his career in political polling under Louis Harris before founding Hart Research to measure public opinion. Throughout his career, Hart developed an approach to crafting survey questions and conducting focus groups that allowed respondents to answer honestly, which became recognized within the polling industry as a novel method. Within a decade, Hart Research became known for its creative approach to qualitative research.

Hart and his company have provided NBC News and The Wall Street Journal with polls for decades. Hart Research serves as the Democratic pollster for the bipartisan NBC News Poll, which is considered a standard of national polling. He has been part of the election night team with either CBS or NBC for many years.

Hart Research has served as the pollster for more than 50 United States senators, including Hubert Humphrey, John Glenn, Bill Bradley, Edward Kennedy, Dick Durbin, Dianne Feinstein, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. His gubernatorial clients include more than 40 governors such as Jay Rockefeller, Bill Clinton, and Richard Riley. Hart’s corporate clients have included Fortune 500 firms such as Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft, and Boeing, and his nonprofit work includes organizations like Smithsonian Institution, Kennedy Center, and Gates Foundation. National Journal named Hart one of its 150 national leaders who shape federal government policy.

Hart received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to Campaign Consulting from the American Association of Political Consultants. His work has extended beyond domestic politics to promoting democracies in Chile, Czechoslovakia, South Africa, and the Republic of Georgia. Hart has appeared on "Meet the Press," "The Today Show," and "Rock Center with Brian Williams." He has served as a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow and has taught public opinion and public policy at Duke University, the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California, Berkeley, as well as serving as a Shorenstein Visiting Fellow at the JFK School at Harvard University. Hart retired from active polling after the 2020 election.