Marist Poll Recognized by The New York Times

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A recent update from the Marist Institute of Public Opinion (MIPO) shared that the Marist Poll was recognized by The New York Times. The Poll was described as “the first significant survey to gauge New Yorkers’ views on the 2022 Democratic Primary for governor.”

The Marist Poll started as a classroom project. By 1978, it developed into the first college-based survey center in the country that involved students in the process of polling. Since then, Dr. Lee Miringoff has been the director of this organization.

Miringoff additionally teaches Public Opinion and Communications courses at Marist. Through his extensive work building the Poll, he and his co-workers have erected a massive nonpartisan organization that employs 250 students and connects them with many media partners. These partners include NBC News, National Public Radio, PBS NewsHour and more. 

Because of this, the students can learn from professionals and their own experience in the public opinion field. 

Miringoff claims that the Marist Poll is “the real deal, a learning laboratory.”

The specific poll picked up by The New York Times regarded the job performance of Governor Kathy Hochul and the upcoming Democratic primary for New York State Governor.

“If The New York Times says you are significant, that’s really nice,” said Miringoff.

The poll results, which can be found on the Marist Poll website, showed that Hochul was off to a good start as governor with good grades for her performance so far. Another polled opinion said that New Yorkers’ give “a huge thumbs down” to Cuomo possibly reclaiming his previous position. 

“In many ways, it was a very impactful poll because it established the success of Hochul so far, and it spoke to the problems Cuomo has regarding his sexual harassment charges,” said Miringoff. 

Private polls are also showing similar results. This poll was not only newsworthy because it was the first poll on a female governor in New York, but it also touched upon her running for election in her own right.

While The Times recognized the Poll’s recent work, they work year-round to collect data on political opinions. They attend many virtual press conferences with award-winning companies nationwide. This past month, the Marist Poll met with the White House Correspondent from the National Journal and successful journalists from both CNN and NBC, George E. Codon Jr. 

Looking forward, the Poll plans to develop new ways to scientifically measure public opinion. Challenges for this will include the constant shed of technological skin and staying on top of these new advances. They also have scheduled future polls on the upcoming midterm elections and continued polls on Covid-19, the economy and President Biden’s performance.

“There’s never a down period, there’s always something breaking, and we love to be a part of those,” said Miringoff

The Marist Poll is ranked 14th out of 440 organizations that do public opinion research throughout the country. Dr. Miringoff believes that there is no better way to get recognized by the school or the media than doing good things. 

“You are only as good as your last poll.”