The Edgy Interview: Dan McAllister

The Libertarian Lass, Gayle FalkenthalJohn Nienstedt Leave a Comment

Originally published on the Competitive Edge Research & Communication website Dan McAllister seems to have a nasty job. The Bible holds that tax collectors are vile and most people I know aren’t giddy with excitement at the thought of paying taxes “to the man.” But then there’s Dan, a gentleman with a sunny disposition who genuinely wants the process of …

The Edgy Interview: Bill Geppert

Guest ColumnJohn Nienstedt Leave a Comment

Originally published in the Competitive Edge Newsletter, May 2018 By John Nienstedt, Sr. Bill Geppert will be in the running for Mr. San Diego as soon as Malin Burham wants to relinquish the title. It seems Bill is always stepping up to the plate in some capacity to get things done or shepherd a local organization through a difficult period. …

The Edgy Interview: Jeff Marston

The Libertarian Lass, Gayle FalkenthalJohn Nienstedt Leave a Comment

Originally published in the Competitive Edge Newsletter, March 2018. I’ve known Jeff Marston since we both walked precincts for Ronald Reagan’s re-election campaign – yep, it was Morning in America in 1984. Those Del Cerro doors we knocked on had a lot of eager Reaganites behind them, so my one (and still only) precinct walk was a good one with …

The Edgy Interview: Julie Meier Wright

The Libertarian Lass, Gayle FalkenthalJohn Nienstedt Leave a Comment

 Originally published in the Competitive Edge Newsletter, February 2018 Julie Meier Wright sold San Diego across the country and around the world. Perhaps just as important, she’s been an advocate for women taking strong roles in business and politics and serves as a mentor to many women. Julie is currently a Strategic Advisor at Collaborative Economics, a Senior Fellow with …

John Nienstedt, president of Competitive Edge Research & Communication, San Diego

Final San Diego Voter Turnout Predictions from Competitive Edge Research

The Libertarian Lass, Gayle FalkenthalJohn Nienstedt, The Libertarian Lass, Gayle Falkenthal Leave a Comment

The 2016 Presidential election has induced much gnashing of teeth among voters.  It seems like there has been an unprecedented amount of attention paid to election-related stress relief. Voice of San Diego devoted not just one but two sessions “focused on mindfulness, consciousness and reflexivity” in an effort to relax the electorate.  The Washington Post recently reported that there’s an …

Will California’s Voters Set A New Record for Apathy?

The Libertarian Lass, Gayle FalkenthalThe Libertarian Lass, Gayle Falkenthal 4 Comments

How low can they go? California’s voters set a record low of 51 percent voter turnout in 2002. Political pollster John Nienstedt, president of Competitive Edge Research & Communication, made his final voter turnout prediction for Tuesday’s midterm election at the witching hour on Election Eve. Read his prediction here, then weigh in on whether he’s high, low, or right …

Tony Gwynn Was Wrong

The Libertarian Lass, Gayle FalkenthalThe Libertarian Lass, Gayle Falkenthal Leave a Comment

There can’t be many San Diegans who haven’t given thought about the late Tony Gwynn in the past week. Everyone’s got a story, including San Diego’s foremost political numbers guy, John Nienstedt of Competitive Edge Research & Communication. You might assume Nienstedt would be impressed by Gwynn’s many impressive numbers. Not exactly. In his latest blog post, Nienstedt is impressed …

Will low voter turnout give Republican Neel Kashkari a chance?

The Libertarian Lass, Gayle FalkenthalThe Libertarian Lass, Gayle Falkenthal 9 Comments

In the wake of low voter turnout in the June 2014 California primary which favored conservative / Republican candidates, is there any chance of a repeat on a bigger scale in November 2014? John Nienstedt, president of Competitive Edge Research & Communication, says November 2014 could be a real downer for California when it comes to voter turnout. As John …

June 3 Voter Turnout: One Prediction Getting Plenty of Attention

The Libertarian Lass, Gayle FalkenthalThe Libertarian Lass, Gayle Falkenthal Leave a Comment

Voter turnout for the June 2014 California primary will be low. Not a “Stop The Presses” kind of statement. How about this: “San Diego is on the cusp of experiencing record low voter turnout. I’m talking about turnout potentially so weak it could damage the city’s psyche.”  Competitive Edge Research & Communication President and CEO John Nienstedt made this assertion …

Advice from the campaign trail: failure is an opportunity

The Libertarian Lass, Gayle FalkenthalThe Libertarian Lass, Gayle Falkenthal Leave a Comment

Anyone running for elected office wants to win. Pretty darn basic: the person who earns the highest number of votes from constituents gets the job. There is a winner and by default, a loser. A failure. Typically Type A, hard charging, ambitious political candidates and their equally hard-charging, ambitious political campaign managers shirk from failure. Failure is not an option, …

The Oracle Speaks

Tony ManolatosTony Manolatos 26 Comments

[captionpix imgsrc=”http://sdrostra.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/john-tj.jpg” captiontext=”John Nienstedt, President of Competitive Edge, and T.J. Zane, President & CEO of The Lincoln Club of San Diego County, at the Lincoln Club’s Election Night Reception. Photo by: Melissa Jacobs”] Politics & Media Mashup I worked on a campaign with local pollster John Nienstedt a couple years ago and after he explained in a group email – a …

Election Hangover? A Polling Postmortem Cures What Ails Ya’

Erica HollowayErica Holloway 6 Comments

Hungover? Well, depending on your horse(s), you were either drinking victory punch (Go Walker!) or suicide smoothies well into the night. I joined in the Golden Hall festivities via the scrappy San Diego CityBeat live election night blog hosted by our very own San Diego Rostra and our lefty friends at OBRag. If you didn’t follow along with our 100 …

San Diego’s John Nienstedt of Competitive Edge Research does some Tebowing

The Libertarian Lass, Gayle FalkenthalThe Libertarian Lass, Gayle Falkenthal Leave a Comment

Competitive Edge Research and its President and founder John Nienstedt are best known for their spot-on research about political candidates and ballot measures. But once in a while, Nienstedt admits he’ll indulge his curiosity and add a few questions on a topic of personal interest. In February he asked people in a nationwide poll what they thought about Denver Broncos …

Tipping Point: DeMaio Signs Top Pollster Nienstedt

Erica HollowayErica Holloway 2 Comments

As originally posted on Flash Report. Camp Carl DeMaio must be doing a jig. Earlier this week, the councilman signed highly-respected pollster John Nienstedt of Competitive Edge Research & Communication. So far, the polling for the San Diego mayoral race ain’t been what most of us race watchers would consider legit. This move signifies a tipping point in the race …

Reagan Day? More than 60% of Americans Just Say No

Erica HollowayErica Holloway 5 Comments

Feb. 4, 2011 – SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Happy Dutch Day? Nope, most Americans say they’d rather work. More than 60 percent of Americans reject the idea of denoting 40th President Ronald Reagan’s birthday, February 6, as a federal public holiday. The survey of 504 American adults was conducted between February 1-3, 2011 by Competitive Edge Research & Communication. SEE …