"[W]hen Gallup was a professor of Journalism at Northwestern University, his mother-in-law Ola Babcock Miller ran for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa. Her husband had died in office and the nomination was largely honorary and she was not expected to win. Gallup decided to apply his ideas about measuring reader interest to understanding her chances."[1]
Contrary to the above quote, Miller's election was to the office of Secretary of State. Predicting her victory against the odds was Gallup's start in election polling.
