Rogers Cleveland Dunn (1902-1985) was born in Scarsdale, New York. He spent the bulk of his career as a political analyst and writer, though as a young man he was employed by the Department of Commerce during the tenure of Secretary Herbert Hoover. Dunn left government service to work on Wall Street, a career that ended with the onset of the Great Depression. In the early 1930s Dunn, a lifelong Republican, initiated the Dunn Survey, a publication which researched the relationship between government and public opinion by tracking editorials from thousands of newspapers across the nation. Dunn also incorporated the influence of the ¿relief vote¿ into the survey. He sometimes argued that if one person was employed by the Federal government (and usually by the WPA), he would vote Democratic at the polls and bring three other Democrat voters with him. Dunn used this statistical data to predict the outcome of Congressional and presidential elections. He intended the Survey to be an illustration of the mechanics of the political scene for businessmen and politicians, and a way for Republicans to address the reasons for Democratic political successes. In 1936 Dunn was hired by the Republican National Committee to head a project of studying editorials from newspapers across the nation, but he held this position only for two months, after which the Committee terminated the contract due to budget concerns. Dunn's significance as a political analyst was at its peak from the late 1930s through the 1960s, during which time his opinions were published in over 120 newspapers. Over his lifetime, Dunn corresponded regularly with the chairmen of national companies as well as with members of Congress about political trends and events, and he often solicited their support in the form of subscriptions to his Survey. He gained the respect of business and political figures alike for his political analyses, and was duly acknowledged for his successes in national newspapers. In particular, Dunn received acclamation for his prediction that President Truman would defeat challenger Thomas Dewey in the 1948 Presidential election. In his retirement years, one of the more significant aspects of Dunn's personal life was his conversion and commitment to Christianity. Rogers Dunn died in Laurel, Maryland on April 22, 1985.
From the description of Dunn, Rogers C. (Rogers Cleveland), 1902-1985 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10612058
