Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at a press conference in Tel Aviv on December 11, 2014. (Ben Kelmer/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hired John McLaughlin, a US-based pollster noted for his surveys on Republican candidates, ahead of the March 17 Israeli elections, Channel 2 reported on Tuesday.
McLaughlin, the CEO of McLaughlin and Associates, has worked with Netanyahu in the past, according to his website. He has also worked with former presidential candidates, three governors, 22 senators, and some 20 Republican members of Congress.
McLaughlin was hired by Netanyahu in 2007, and the researcher maintains on his website that he “helped Benjamin Netanyahu win the first ever Likud Party primary to become party leader which led to him becoming prime minister.”
Most recently, the pollster made headlines after he failed to predict the downfall of House majority leader Eric Cantor.
US pollster John McLaughlin (photo credit: YouTube screenshot)
McLaughlin’s poll showed Cantor would have a 34-point advantage over his rival. He later lost by some 10 percent.
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McLaughlin’s appointment by Netanyahu follows several recent polls which have placed his Likud party second to the joint Hatnua-Labor party.
A poll published by the Knesset Channel on Monday afternoon shows Hatnua-Labor leading Likud by two seats, with 23 as compared to Likud’s 21.
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