DePauw donated $5,000 to help fund the Howey Politics Indiana polls for the senate, governor and presidential elections, tacking the university's name onto the end of the poll. The results of the latest Howey/DePauw Poll were released Thursday morning.
"I think Brian Howey wanted to have affiliation with a university, and he approached us because it would provide some academic credence to the poll itself," David Bohmer, director of the Media Fellows program said.
Bohmer has known Howey, a leading Indiana political columnist, for many years and played a roll in bringing the poll to DePauw.
"I have been involved as the local chair for the democrat party here," Bohmner said. "I have gone to [Indiana Democrat Editorial Association] convention for a number of years. I met [Howey] there many years ago, and we sort of hit it off as two political junkies. Essentially like the others who have sponsored [the poll], I get to listen in on the discussion with the two pollsters."
The polls provide insight into the minds of Hoosiers. The results show Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Republican gubernatorial candidate Pence leading in Indiana by roughly 12 percent. Senatorial candidate Joe Donnelly leads Republican Richard Murdock by 2 percent, with 15 percent undecided. The senate race's numbers are too close to predict who will win the race. Polls were conducted this past spring and another poll will take place in October as the election comes closer.
Senior Jacob Bonifield, a political science major, notes that with Indiana's past, it is not a surprise the state is turning red in the presidential race.
"For the presidential race, Indiana is a conservative state," Bonifield said. "The 2008 election was once in a generation."
Bohmer suggests the Howey/DePauw Poll to be one of the most reliable polls in the state and to keep a look out for the senate race.
"The senate race could be important. It is less than 50 percent likely Indiana could determine the balance in the senate.
"They've got a real senate election here. If people vote in Indiana, there are certainly opportunities to vote for candidates on both sides. What [Howey] did was raise enough money to do two serious polls. You're really getting two top rate pollsters to do these two polls of Hoosiers," Bohmer said.
Bonifield appreciates the professionalism of the poll.
"They've made a conscious effort to go about it in a professional ways and it's a bi-partisan effort," Bonifield said. "It's a genuine way to gauge what people are thinking going into the election."
The two pollsters on the Howey/DePauw poll, Republican Christine Matthews of Bellwether Research and Democrat Fred Yang of Garin-Hart-Yang, came to DePauw last spring for an information session with students and plan to come back after the election for another.
"Last spring, before the primaries they did a poll of the senate," said Jonathan Coffin, assistant to the president and director of strategic communications.
"They came here to talk a little about how they developed their methodology. A big thing they talk about was how to poll in an era of cell phones. How to poll in an era of social media. It was fascinating. There were a couple dozen students there, and they are planning on coming back. [When they come back they will look at] what they found in their polls this time, looking back on their methodology. We will have the results then, and they can talk about: here's where we got it right, here is where we missed it a little bit."
Having the university's name on the poll offers an outlet for publicity.
"I don't think the [Howey/DePauw Poll] hurts us," Bohmer said. "There is definitely some benefit to being associated with something that is following the election this closely."
As a student, Bonifield thinks this poll shows the intellectual interests of the students.
"Its nice to think we go to a school that is taking an active roll in the election," Bonifield said. "The [Howey/DePauw Poll] is showing the mood in a pivotal election season."
Coffin thinks being a part of this poll will create positive buzz on campus.
"Anytime the university's name is attached to something like this creates an interest on campus," Coffin said. "The opportunity to engage with pollsters in the major election is an interesting thing. Polls have become a major part of how we track progress. Being able to understand the methodology, to read them and react is an important skill to have."
- Ellen Kobe contributed to this article.