By Ed Smith

Pollster and political analyst Frank Luntz brought his combative, often in-your-face style to NCSL’s Legislative Summit on Tuesday in a session on what voters want to hear from their elected officials.

Luntz, known as the focus group czar, showed a brief video clip of a focus group he conducted that was filmed for “60 Minutes.” Everyone in the

group appeared angry, talking over one another and shouting. And this was about two minutes after the focus group began.

These people, Luntz said are not the exception, they are the rule.

“A whole lot of [voters] have been really alienated,” he said. “We’ve never had an election where the Democrat had a 40 per favorability and the Republican had 38 percent.”

The silver lining for state and local elected officials, he said, is that “it is overwhelming that they trust state and local government more than they do Washington.”

More important than almost anything else, Luntz said, is people want their elected officials to be problem solvers. Asked to rank a variety of priorities, only a third of respondents said fighting for your principles and values was of high importance.

“They want all of you to work together and they don’t accept partisanship,” he said. “Everybody wants to win, and there is right way and wrong way. In 2016 it was done the wrong way and that’s divided the country.”

Luntz offered some specific advice about how to talk about key issues, such as education reform and infrastructure. One piece of advice is not to call it infrastructure or education reform. Be concrete and talk about specific changes that will affect people’s daily lives. And the most important three words to use are efficient, effective and accountable.

“We all cherish this country ... and want it to be as good as it can be,” he said. “You’re there to listen to learn and most important you’re there to lead.”

Ed Smith is NCSL’s director of digital communications.

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