Emil Edward Hurja (January 22, 1892 – May 30, 1953) was an American newspaper editor and

political consultant Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely tel ...

. Hurja was a pioneer of political

opinion polling An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...

and played an advisory role during the presidency of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. He was known as the Wizard of Washington.

Biography

Hurja was born in

Crystal Falls, Michigan Crystal Falls is a city and the county seat of Iron County, Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,469. The city is located within Crystal Falls Township, but is a separate municipal entity. The area first developed as a maj ...

. He was one of twelve children born to Matt Hurja (originally Pitkäkangas), a shopkeeper, (1863–1931) and Anna Liisa (''née'' ''Keisari'') Hurja (1870–1940), both of whom were immigrants from

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

to the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

. In 1917, he received his A.B. at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

, where he covered the Ford Peace Expedition of 1915 as a college

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

. He served as a captain in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He worked as the newspaper editor for the ''Breckenridge Daily American'' (1921–1926) in

Breckenridge, Texas Breckenridge is a city in Stephens County, Texas, United States. The estimated population was 5,349 as of February 2021. It is the county seat of Stephens County. The mayor is Bob Sims. Breckenridge was a stop on the since defunct Wichita Fal ...

. He was editor of the ''Pathfinder'' magazine (1939–1945). Hurja was chief pollster of the Democratic National Committee (1932–1937) under the direction of Democratic National Committee Chairman

James Farley James Aloysius Farley (May 30, 1888 – June 9, 1976) was an American politician and Knight of Malta who simultaneously served as chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Postmaste ...

, where he helped poll Roosevelt's campaign and the popularity of the New Deal. He also provided poll analysis for the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

during elections held during 1932, 1934 and 1936. Notably, he predicted that FDR would gain seats in the 1934 United States Senate elections due to the popularity of the New Deal, bucking the conventional wisdom that the President's party tends to lose seats in the midterm. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Michigan and appeared on the cover of ''Time'' in March 1936. He was a candidate in the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

primary for the House of Representative from the 12th District of the

State of Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

(1946–1948). In 1919, he married Gudrun Andersen. He died in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Honors

He was awarded both the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

and the

Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav I ...

.Hurja, Emil (1892–1953) Collection

Impact and legacy

G. Elliott Morris has called Hurja the first modern pollster.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurja, Emil 1892 births 1953 deaths People from Crystal Falls, Michigan University of Washington alumni American political consultants American newspaper editors Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal American people of Finnish descent United States Army personnel of World War I Burials at Arlington National Cemetery People from Breckenridge, Texas

Biography

Honors

Impact and legacy

References

Related reading

External links