Steve Koczela

President, MassINC Polling Group

About Steve Koczela

Steve Koczela is the President of The MassINC Polling Group, where he has grown the organization from its infancy to a nationally known and respected polling provider. During the 2014 election cycle, MPG conducted election polling for WBUR, the continuation of a three-year partnership. Koczela again led the endeavor, producing polls which came within one point of the margin in both the Massachusetts gubernatorial and U.S. Senate Elections. He was also lead writer for Poll Vault, WBUR’s political reporting section during the 2014 Election Cycle.

He has led survey research programs for the U.S. Department of State in Iraq, in key states for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, and has conducted surveys and polls on behalf of many private corporations. Koczela brings a deep understanding of the foundations of public opinion and a wide ranging methodological expertise. He earned U.S. Department of State recognition for his leading edge work on sample evaluation in post conflict areas using geospatial systems.

Koczela is frequent guest on WBUR as well as many other news and talk programs in Massachusetts and elsewhere. His polling analysis is often cited in local, state, and national media outlets. He currently serves as President of the New England Chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (NEAAPOR). Koczela holds a Master’s degree in Marketing Research from the University of Wisconsin and is a veteran of the war in Iraq.

About Steve Koczela

Steve Koczela is the President of The MassINC Polling Group, where he has grown the organization from its infancy to a nationally known and respected polling provider. During the 2014 election cycle, MPG conducted election polling for WBUR, the continuation of a three-year partnership. Koczela again led the endeavor, producing polls which came within one point of the margin in both the Massachusetts gubernatorial and U.S. Senate Elections. He was also lead writer for Poll Vault, WBUR’s political reporting section during the 2014 Election Cycle.

He has led survey research programs for the U.S. Department of State in Iraq, in key states for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, and has conducted surveys and polls on behalf of many private corporations. Koczela brings a deep understanding of the foundations of public opinion and a wide ranging methodological expertise. He earned U.S. Department of State recognition for his leading edge work on sample evaluation in post conflict areas using geospatial systems.

Koczela is frequent guest on WBUR as well as many other news and talk programs in Massachusetts and elsewhere. His polling analysis is often cited in local, state, and national media outlets. He currently serves as President of the New England Chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (NEAAPOR). Koczela holds a Master’s degree in Marketing Research from the University of Wisconsin and is a veteran of the war in Iraq.

Stories by Steve Koczela

Mass. poll indicates popularity of Democratic leaders sagging

Warren’s favorability way down, Clark barely registers with voters

BPS parents concerned about safety at school

Poll also finds uneasiness about bus service, heavy use of substitute teachers

Boston’s downtown at risk as workers stay remote

Surveys show little interest in full return to the office

Who were the winners and losers (besides the candidates)? 

The behind-the-scenes scorecard from Tuesday’s election

Few giving up their jobs over vaccine mandates

Divide over getting the shot may be less than feared

Why racial oversamples in polling make sense

Additional data uncovers differing perspectives on policy

Hesitancy over childhood vaccines could prolong education inequities 

Resistance to shots is highest in lower-income communities hit hardest by pandemic

Poll indicates Baker remains wildly popular

Problems with COVID vaccine rollout, website, have not hurt his numbers

Voters hold Beacon Hill in high esteem

Mass. governor, lawmakers lead nation in popularity

Pandemic will leave PTSD in its wake. I should know.

The war against COVID will continue for some even after we're all vaccinated

Not easy being young during COVID

Financial and mental health impacts are great

Parents take stock of the school year that was (or wasn’t) 

Poll shows very mixed results of sudden lurch to ‘remote’ learning 

Parents divided over the coming school year

Race and gender play major roles in shaping attitudes

A new housing crisis for Massachusetts?

Renters, young, part-time workers among hardest hit

Psychological, economic toll piling up

Poll shows growing strain of pandemic on Mass. residents 

I had COVID-19. Or did I?

Uncertainty among those who have recovered leaves us all stuck at home

40 percent of Mass. residents expecting financial hardships

Pandemic toll hitting hardest at those on lower economic rungs 

Mass. voters offer Warren a warning on Medicare for All

Even in her deep-blue home state, cautionary signs abound

Polling, like everything else, is moving online

It turns out initial Markey-Kennedy survey was no outlier

Wait wait, don’t primary me

2018 saw the most contested Democratic primaries for the House in decades; will 2020 top it? 

Who’s looking at a Markey-Kennedy race?

Expensive poll indicates someone is very interested

Keeping politics in check

Sportsmanship trumps partisanship at chess tourney

Shutdown sending Trump poll numbers down

Series cracks emerging in president's base

For GOP, is the lesson be more like Charlie?

Everywhere else you look in state GOP, it’s very bad

Baker shows a Republican can do well in cities

Courting urban leaders, voters was a strategy that paid off

The duel over Diehl

Can Gonzalez capitalize on this moment?

Surprise! Mass. Dems don’t want to abolish ICE

Are some of the state's pols in Washington out of step?

Late Registration

SJC upholds 20-day voter registration deadline

Are you there, Massachusetts? It’s me, the primaries

Major and consequential contests further down the ballot