Analyst Institute

The Analyst Institute (AI) is an American political data analysis company based in Washington, D.C.

Michael Pordhorzer, longtime political director of the AFL-CIO, began inviting other progressive analysts to that union group’s headquarters to share and discuss their research following President George W. Bush’s re-election in 2004. The attendees grew to a few dozen within a couple of years, and he eventually established the official organization in 2007.¹⁾

In 2014, the institute worked with Vote.org founder Debra Cleaver to study whether text messages could be used to pressure participants to vote, finding that the method increased turnout slightly. Vote.org used the data to mass text millions of potential voters prior to the 2016 presidential election.²⁾

Mind the Gap paid AI $114,128 during the 2018, 2020 and 2022 United States election cycles.^{3) 4) 5)}

Groups and organizations that have hired AI since 2012 include:⁶⁾