Gallup Says It Will No Longer Poll Presidential Approval

It’s the end of an era for the polling world. 

Gallup, the firm that pioneered political survey research nearly nine decades ago, confirmed this week that it had stopped publishing presidential approval ratings. In an email, Gallup spokesperson Justin McCarthy said that the decision went into effect at the beginning of the year, noting that the organization would no longer poll favorability of any “individual political figures.”

The decision to discontinue presidential approval and favorability numbers “reflects an evolution in how Gallup focuses its public research and thought leadership,” McCarthy said. He said that the firm would continue its Gallup Poll Social Series, as well as its Quarterly Business Review, World Poll and other U.S. and global research initiatives. 

“This change is part of a broader, ongoing effort to align all of Gallup’s public work with its mission,” McCarthy said. “We look forward to continuing to offer independent research that adheres to the highest standards of social science.”

Gallup was the first polling outfit to begin asking Americans about presidential approval some 88 years ago when Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the Oval Office and the political consulting business had yet to take shape. 

Since then, the organization has become one of the most closely watched metrics of politicians’ favorability.

In the modern day, however, Gallup is far from the only polling firm measuring presidential approval. The New York Times, for instance, tracked 51 polls on the question in January alone. 

But as more and more pollsters turn to newer methodologies, like online surveys, to gather data, Gallup’s presidential approval polls stood out for their reliance on phone calls using live interviewers – an onerous, yet solid, methodology that has become increasingly rare in the polling world.

Gallup also notably eschews polling partnerships with Democrats and Republicans, a decision that helped the organization solidify a reputation of impartiality. 

Gallup’s decision to discontinue its presidential approval polls isn’t the first time the organization has abandoned a survey question. In 2015, the firm announced that it would no longer conduct “horse-race” polling, measuring which candidates were ahead in a race.