Whit Ayres is a leading Washington, D.C. political consultant with 40 years of experience in polling and survey research for high profile political campaigns, associations, and nonprofit organizations.

As Founder and President of North Star Opinion Research, a national public opinion and public affairs research firm located in Arlington, Virginia, Whit has provided strategic insights and messaging advice to numerous political clients at all levels of government.

Presidential clients have been Lamar Alexander in 1996 and Marco Rubio in 2016.   U.S. Senate clients have included Lamar Alexander, Bob Corker, Paul Coverdell, Bill Frist, Lindsey Graham, Jim Inhofe, John Kennedy, Mack Mattingly, Marco Rubio, Jeff Sessions, and Strom Thurmond.  His gubernatorial clients have included David Beasley, Carroll Campbell, Ron DeSantis, Bill Haslam, Bill Lee, and Bob Riley.  His more than 80 association and nonprofit clients have included The American Medical Association, The Bipartisan Policy Center, The Boy Scouts of America, The Environmental Defense Fund, The Federalist Society, the Nature Conservancy, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Whit has been active in the American Association of Political Consultants for over 30 years, serving as its Treasurer, President, and Chairman. In 2012 Whit was honored as the Republican Pollster of the Year by the organization. Whit is the author of 2016 and Beyond:  How Republicans Can Elect a President in the New America.  The book argues that the GOP must adapt to the changing demographics of America to be politically successful in the future.

Whit’s comments and analysis appear on NPR and in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and numerous regional newspapers. 

Whit is active with numerous Presbyterian Church, educational, and volunteer organizations.  He currently serves on the Board of the News Literacy Project.

Whit founded his company after a career as a tenured professor at the University of South Carolina, and Budget and Policy Director for former South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell. Whit is a graduate of Davidson College and holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.