Richard Wirthlin
Richard B. Wirthlin (March 15, 1931 – March 16, 2011) was an American pollster and political adviser best known as Ronald Reagan’s chief strategist and pollster for about twenty years, from 1968 through the end of Reagan’s presidency. He became a senior adviser in Reagan’s inner circle, helping shape campaign messages and White House strategy.
Wirthlin was also a general authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving in the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 1996 to 2001.
He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Madeline Bitner and Joseph L. Wirthlin, who later served as the LDS Church’s presiding bishop. As a young man, he served a two-year Mormon mission in Switzerland and Austria (1951–1953), based in Basel. He earned a BA and MA in economics and statistics from the University of Utah and a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. He served in the U.S. Army (1954–1955).
In 1969 he founded a Los Angeles survey research firm that would become Wirthlin Worldwide. The firm was later acquired by Harris Interactive in 2004, and Wirthlin served on its board.
Reagan turned to Wirthlin for political advice in 1980, and the duo helped shape Reagan’s campaigns in 1980 and 1984. Wirthlin was named Adman of the Year by Advertising Age for the first campaign. He also wrote two books and hosted at least one podcast.
He married Jeralie Mae Chandler on November 23, 1956, in the Salt Lake Temple, and they had eight children. His family includes several LDS leaders: his father was presiding bishop (1952–1961); his brother Joseph B. Wirthlin served as an Apostle (1986–2008); and his cousin Gordon B. Hinckley later became LDS Church president.
Wirthlin died of kidney failure in Salt Lake City, one day after his 80th birthday, and is buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:52 (CET).