Bill Shapard Jr.

Bill Shapard, Jr., Chief Executive Officer
Professional Researcher Certification

Bill is the founder of ShapardResearch and SoonerPoll.com. Bill began his career in polling after working on a major campaign in Oklahoma and has worked in nearly every election cycle in Oklahoma since 1996.

Oxford, Mississippi is where Bill began his career while writing an opinion column for the Oxford Eagle, he also co-hosted and produced a weekly political talk radio show. In 1996, the Shapard-Magann Show won two Excellence in Broadcasting Awards from the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters for the Best Public Service program in the state.

Returning to Oklahoma, Bill served as the Campaign Press Secretary to Senator Jim Inhofe’s 1996 re-election and eventually moved to Washington, DC, becoming the Press Secretary to U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts, Jr. He also worked on the staff of the House Republican Conference. Bill has also served as the Finance Director of the Oklahoma Republican Party and as campaign manager for Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony’s 2004 U.S. Senate campaign.

Bill holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Mississippi and is certified as a PRC, which is a professional researcher at the expert level by the Market Research Association (MRA). Bill is also an active member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR).

Bill has lectured at Oklahoma State University on developing polling methodologies, data collection processes, and advanced likely voter sampling techniques. Bill also serves as an on-air political commentator for Oklahoma television stations and is an active member of the Oklahoma City Rotary Club.

Under Bill’s leadership, ShapardResearch has grown into one of Oklahoma’s largest market research firms and has conducted more public opinion research for the Oklahoma news media than all other pollsters combined.

Bill can be reached at bill@shapard.com