Whit Ayres

Whit Ayres is a leading Washington, D.C. political consultant with over 30 years of experience in polling and survey research for high profile political campaigns and associations. He is the author of italicized, which draws upon his years of campaign experience and decades of polling trends to illustrate the ways in which new candidates, new messages, and a new tone can help Republicans win the presidency in the New America.

As Founder and President of North Star Opinion Research, a national public opinion and public affairs research firm located in Alexandria, Virginia, Whit provides message development advice and strategic insights to high level political clients including U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Lamar Alexander, Lindsey Graham, Jim Inhofe, and John Kennedy, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, current and former Tennessee Governors Bill Lee and Bill Haslam, and former Senator Bob Corker. Association clients include the Boy Scouts of America, the Federalist Society, and the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.

Whit has been active in The American Association of Political Consultants for over 20 years, serving as its Treasurer, President, and Chairman. In 2012, Whit was honored as the Republican Pollster of the Year by the organization. AAPC is a bi-partisan professional society that promotes the political consulting industry, protects political freedom of speech, and fosters ethical behavior in political campaigns.

Whit’s comments and analysis appear in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and numerous regional newspapers as well as National Public Radio.

Whit founded his company after a career as a tenured professor in the Department of Government and International Studies at the University of South Carolina. Whit is a graduate of Davidson College and holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.