What are Voters Telling Us Before the 2026 Midterm Elections? A Conversation with the Bipartisan Polling Team for the Wall Street Journal

Join the Institute of Politics and the Center for Public Leadership for a timely conversation on what voters are telling us ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Featuring John Anzalone and Adam Geller—the bipartisan polling team behind the Wall Street Journal poll—this discussion will offer a rare look at how leading Democratic and Republican strategists are interpreting the national mood.

Drawing on decades of experience at the highest levels of presidential and battleground politics, they will explore key trends shaping the electorate and what they signal for the road to 2026. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear how data, messaging, and strategy are converging at a pivotal moment in American politics.

*Lunch will be served

Please register with a valid Harvard email address to attend in-person.

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, this event is off-the-record.

About John Anzalone

John Anzalone is one of the nation’s top pollsters and messaging strategists. He has spent decades working on some of the toughest political campaigns in modern history and helping corporations, trade associations, and advocacy groups navigate complex challenges and achieve their goals. 

John has polled for four of the past five presidential races, serving as chief pollster for President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. In that role, he helped develop the messaging and strategy that drove paid communications, major policy rollouts, speeches, and convention thematics. He also polled for the campaigns of President Barack Obama (2008 & 2012) and Hillary Clinton (2016), and he has helped elect dozens of U.S. senators, governors, and members of the House of Representatives. John currently polls for Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pete Aguilar, Chair of the Democratic Caucus and the third ranking member in the House. In 2026, John will lead the strategic team for Roy Cooper’s run for U.S. Senate in North Carolina.

John helped found the Wall Street Journal poll in 2021 which has become the premier national and battleground media poll in the country. With more than 30 years of experience in message development and strategic execution, John has been called on by key decision-makers, executives, and CEOs to provide counsel in a changing world and marketplace. With extensive experience using research and data to break down complex subjects into digestible messages that resonate with target audiences, John has successfully helped his clients craft winning platforms and earn public support time and time again. He sees his role as providing clients with clear guidance on what to say and whom to say it to. John currently works for AT&T, Coinbase, AFLAC, and Southern Company, to name a few.

John grew up in St. Joseph, Michigan, and graduated from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. John is married, has four grown children, two great dogs, and lives in Inlet Beach, Florida. He roots for the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Chicago Cubs.

About Adam Geller

Adam has been a Republican pollster for over 30 years. His firm, National Research, is one half of the polling team for the esteemed Wall Street Journal poll, the most prominent public poll in the country, where they partner with the highly respected and prominent Democratic polling firm, Impact Research.

In 2016, Adam was the Midwest pollster for the Trump campaign. His polling and focus groups showed the path for victory in Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa – three states that led to President Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton.

In 2024, Adam polled in the seven battleground states for Preserve America, and helped the effort that led to President Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris. Beyond his Presidential experience, Adam has polled forcountless battleground congressional, Senate and Gubernatorial campaigns all around the country. He’s polled for the RGA, NRSC, NRCC, CLF and SLF. He served as chief pollster and strategist for West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey and Dean of the Michigan GOP Delegation, Congressman Tim Walberg.

Adam has conducted hundreds of thousands of quantitative and qualitative interviews in the gaming, pharmaceutical, telecom, energy, financial, and health care spaces. He regularly offers political insights and strategies to corporate, public relations, and C-Suite executives.