Matt Towery
{{short description|American attorney, pollster, and politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Matt Towery
| image =
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| office = Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
| term_start = 1993
| term_end = 1997
| birth_name = Matthew Allen Towery{{cite web|url=https://www.martindale.com/atlanta/georgia/matthew-allen-towery-158034357-a/|title=Matthew Allen Towery Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com|website=www.martindale.com}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|12|6}}
| birth_place = Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| residence = Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Snell Isle, St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
| education = University of Georgia
University of Cambridge
Stetson University College of Law
| alma mater =
| employer =
| occupation = Political analyst and pollster, attorney, businessman
| party = Republican
| spouse = Dolle Towery
| children = 2
}}
Matthew Allen "Matt" Towery (born December 6, 1959){{cite web |title=Interview with Matt Towery, March 19, 2018 |url=https://georgiaoralhistory.libs.uga.edu/RBRL425TPGA/RBRL425TPGA-045 |website=georgiaoralhistory.libs.uga.edu |publisher=University of Georgia |access-date=9 November 2024}} is an American political analyst, pollster, television commentator, attorney, and former Georgia state legislator.{{Cite web|title=Matthew Allen Towery|url=https://marquistoplawyers.com/2019/08/05/matt-towery/|last=|first=|date=August 5, 2019|website=Marquis Who's Who Top Lawyers|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}
In late 2014, Towery encouraged Donald Trump to run for the US presidency, suggesting he would be a serious contender.{{Cite web|title=Pollster Predicted Political Rise of Donald Trump|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzKV5Yh0q30|last=|first=|date=May 13, 2016|website=Fox News|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}} His polls were among the few to call the 2016 presidential race for Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Education
Towery attended the University of Georgia, then earned a Master's in Philosophy from Cambridge. In 1987, he earned a Juris Doctor from Stetson University{{cite web|title=Board of Overseers|url=https://www.stetson.edu/law/about/home/board-of-overseers.php|website=www.stetson.edu}}
Career
Towery served in the Georgia House of Representatives and was the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia in 1990. He served as Chairman of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich's political organization in the 1990s.{{cite web|last=Gingrich|first=Newt|date=1 October 2015|title='Newsvesting': Read it, study it|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/1/newt-gingrich-newsvesting-read-it-study-it/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=The Washington Times}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gq.com/story/matt-towery-newt-gingrichs-favorite-pollster|title=A GQ&A with Matt Towery, Newt's Favorite Pollster and Oldest Friend|website=GQ|date=31 January 2012 }}{{Better source needed|date=November 2020}}
He has appeared on news networks and on The O'Reilly Factor and Hardball with Chris Matthews and with hosts Sean Hannity and Bill Maher. In 2011 he served as a weekly guest commentator for CNN. He has been a political analyst for the Fox affiliate in Atlanta.{{Cite web|last=Callaway|first=Cal|date=September 30, 2016|title=New FOX 5 Poll: Clinton, Trump tied in Florida|url=https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/new-fox-5-poll-clinton-trump-tied-in-florida|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Fox 5 Atlanta}}
In 2014, Towery predicted Donald Trump could become a serious contender for the U.S. presidency.{{Cite web|last=Towery|first=Matt|title=Why Trump Should Run {{!}} InsiderAdvantageGeorgia|url=https://insideradvantage.com/2014/12/19/why-trump-should-run/|access-date=2020-10-27|language=en-US}}{{Better source needed|date=November 2020}} His polling company was one of few to predict a Trump win over Clinton in 2016. Towery wrote a memo detailing the reasons he thought other pollsters were missing likely Trump voters, including over-representing Democrats and under-representing white men, and saying the other polls "were being weighted based on a conventional turnout in a very unconventional year and there is a ‘Trump vote’ that most pollsters just are not able to capture." Hannity read the memo on-air just before the election, which Trump won.
The day before the 2020 US presidential election, Towery again predicted a win for Donald Trump, saying he believed other pollsters were missing "the average guy on the street."{{Cite news|last=McGurn|first=William|date=2020-11-02|title=Opinion {{!}} What Pollsters Miss About Trump|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-pollsters-miss-about-trump-11604360068|access-date=2020-11-03|issn=0099-9660}} He also predicted that Trump would carry Georgia by seven percent, but Joe Biden narrowly won the state.
As of 2020 he was Of Counsel with Hall, Booth, Smith in their Atlanta office.{{cite web|title=HALL BOOTH SMITH, P.C. | Matt Allen Towery|url=https://hallboothsmith.com/attorney/matt-allen-towery/}}
Personal life
Towery lives with his wife in Atlanta, Georgia and Snell Isle in St. Petersburg, Florida. He has two adult children.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{C-SPAN|58376}}
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{{s-vac|last=Frank Sutton}}
{{s-ttl|title=Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia|years=1990}}
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Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:Stetson University College of Law alumni
Category:Members of the Georgia House of Representatives
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Candidates in the 1990 United States elections
Category:20th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly