Scott Rasmussen

Scott William Rasmussen was born on March 30, 1956, on Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. His father, Bill Rasmussen, worked in broadcasting, exposing Scott to the industry from a young age. At 14, he secured his first job as an umbrella boy and later became an announcer for the New England Whalers. He also pursued higher education, earning a bachelor’s degree in history from DePauw University in 1986, and an executive MBA from Wake Forest University’s Babcock Graduate School of Management.

Rasmussen’s career began notably in 1978 when he co-founded ESPN with his father, Bill Rasmussen. They launched the sports network in 1979, after securing broadcast rights for NCAA events and obtaining funding from Getty Oil. Their efforts led to a substantial advertising deal with Anheuser-Busch, the largest in cable television at the time. Five years after its inception, their ownership stake in ESPN was acquired, eventually leading to its sale to ABC for $237 million. Following this, they went on to establish the Enterprise Radio Network.

Transitioning into public opinion polling, Rasmussen founded his first polling company in 1994, Rasmussen Research, which was later acquired in 1999. In 2003, he founded Rasmussen Reports, a U.S.-based public opinion polling company. Under his leadership as president until 2013, the company tracked consumer confidence, investor confidence, and presidential approval, gaining a reputation for its use of automated public opinion polling and its daily news reports based on original survey results. After departing from Rasmussen Reports, he established the Rasmussen Media Group and currently conducts polling through RMG Research, while also focusing on his work with the Napolitan Institute and Ballotpedia.