Pat Caddell is a familiar face to anyone who watches FOX News. For years, the Democrat pollster has offered opinion and commentary on political issues, particularly around elections. He passed away this weekend at the age of 68.
The Washington Examiner reports:
Carter-era polling whiz Patrick Caddell dies
Patrick Caddell, a pollster who in his mid-20s helped propel Jimmy Carter to the White House but who later backed Donald Trump for president, has died.
Caddell died at 68 of complications from a stroke, the New York Times reported.
Caddell earned national buzz advising the 1972 Democratic primary campaign of Sen. George McGovern. The campaign of McGovern, a left-wing populist from South Dakota, used new party rules to capture the nomination over more establishment rivals, though he lost in a landslide that fall to Republican president Richard Nixon.
Caddell, a Harvard senior during that campaign, then hooked on with the nascent White House effort of former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter. Little-known nationally, Carter followed Caddell’s advice in campaigning heavily ahead of the Iowa caucuses and building up party support in states his rivals weren’t targeting as heavily.
Here’s more from the New York Times:
Patrick Caddell, Self-Taught Pollster Who Helped Carter to White House, Dies at 68
Patrick Caddell, the political pollster who helped send an obscure peanut farmer named Jimmy Carter to the White House, later became disillusioned with fellow Democrats and finally veered to advise supporters of Donald J. Trump, died on Saturday in Charleston, S.C. He was 68.
His death, from complications of a stroke, was confirmed by a colleague, Prof. Kendra Stewart of the College of Charleston…
Patrick Hayward Caddell was born on May 19, 1950, in Rock Hill, S.C. His mother was Janie (Burns) Caddell. His father, Newton P. Caddell, was a Coast Guard chief warrant officer. Patrick grew up near various Coast Guard stations, spending most of his youth in Falmouth, Mass., and Jacksonville, Fla., where he attended parochial high school and also began taking his first public opinion surveys.
“Math was not my favorite subject,” he said, but at 16, for a mathematics project in his junior year, he fashioned a “voter election model” of the Jacksonville area for predicting elections based on early returns.
Lots of big names mourned Caddell’s passing:
Pat Caddell (Carter) & Richard Wirthlin (Reagan) helped revolutionize the use of polling in presidential campaigns, and guided/encouraged newbie pollsters like me.
Pat was in the fight until the end and will be missed. https://t.co/o9qFGLaGog
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) February 17, 2019
Sad news that Pat Caddell has died. He was one of the good ones. Honest, unflinching, always an education. Loved the country, and a pleasure to work with. RIP Sir 🙏 ”Pat Caddell – Pollster, Populist, and Patriot – Dies at 68” https://t.co/pagNIyI8K9
— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) February 17, 2019
Pat Caddell was brilliant and honest and fair-minded. RIP. https://t.co/6RaPgY2ZR5
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) February 17, 2019
Sad to hear of death of my friend Pat Caddell. He was an honest broker-rare breed in the political business. Patrick Caddell, Self-Taught Pollster Who Helped Carter to White House, Dies at 68 – The New York Times https://t.co/PS9kgK7ZF4
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) February 17, 2019
Sad to see this. Pat was a smart guy who thought for himself. RIP https://t.co/XWpbUvPGkQ
— Brit Hume (@brithume) February 16, 2019
Rest in peace, Mr. Caddell.
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