Peter D. Hart is one of the leading analysts of public opinion in the United States. Since 1971, he has been chairman of Peter D. Hart Research Associates.

As an established leader in survey research, Mr. Hart, along with Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, has been the pollster for NBC News and The Wall Street Journal since 1989. In the political realm, Mr. Hart has represented 40 U.S. senators and 30 governors, ranging from Hubert Humphrey and Lloyd Bentsen, to Jay Rockefeller and Bob Graham. Additional focuses on public policy and cultural statistics have included work for such clients as the Smithsonian Institution, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Kennedy Center. In the international realm, Hart Research has undertaken studies in South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Mr. Hart appears frequently on the major television programs that discuss public policy issues, including Meet the Press, The Today Show, and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. For the past 26 years, he has been a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow. He has taught public opinion and public policy at Duke University, the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, and currently at UC Berkeley. Mr. Hart holds a Bachelor’s degree from Colby College.

The National Journal named Mr. Hart to its select list of 150 national leaders who shape federal government policy, characterizing him as “probably the foremost Washington pollster for the Democratic Party and its centrist candidates, who plays a key role in identifying and shaping national trends and political messages”. In 2002, Mr. Hart was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to Campaign Consulting by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC).