Longtime Republican pollster Margaret Kenski, who told candidates “what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear,” died Tuesday after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 71.
Kenski died at home surrounded by her family, said daughter Kate Kenski. Her mother was diagnosed with cancer 16 years ago, and was a survivor, but the latest occurrence spread to her spine and liver.
“My sister (Erin Paradis) ran the Boston Marathon in her honor in April to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,” Kate Kenski said. “My mom did see her complete that run.”
Margaret Kenski, a native of Washington, D.C., received a doctorate in political science from Georgetown University. She was a political science instructor at Pima Community College from 1969 until 1997.
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Her husband, Hank Kenski, who also received a doctorate from Georgetown, was hired as a political science professor at the University of Arizona in 1968, and he worked until 2006. He is a UA emeritus professor. The two met in graduate school and married in 1968.
Margaret Kenski started her polling firm in 1980, and eventually established Arizona Opinion in 1986. Her husband did consultant work for her.
“My mom loved helping communities, and that is what she loved about politics,” Kate Kenski said. “My mom believed in transparency and at looking at all sides of an issue. She always thought it was best with her clients to tell the truth.”
Hank Kenski added: “She would tell them what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear.”
In political races, Margaret Kenski worked with Democratic U.S. Rep. Morris K. “Mo” Udall, Republican U.S. Reps. Jim Kolbe and Matt Salmon, and U.S. Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain.
In Arizona gubernatorial campaigns, Kenski worked with Republican Govs. Jan Brewer, Fife Symington and Jane Hull. She also did polls for municipalities about roads, education, hospitals and parks, said Hank Kenski.
She often challenged the conventional political wisdom, said J. Charles “Chuck” Coughlin, president of HighGround, a Phoenix-based public affairs consulting firm. He referred to her as “M”, and said she provided him with “wisdom and insight.”
Julie Katsel, Southern Arizona director for Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, said, “Margaret was so good at what she did because she cared so deeply about the community. For decades, she had a tremendous impact on public policy in this state. She has been so respected because of her honesty and her integrity.”
Arizona Opinion closed in 2010, but Margaret Kenski continued consulting up to 2014.
In addition to her husband, Hank Kenski, and daughters, Kate Kenski and Erin Paradis, Margaret Kenski is survived by daughter Carolyn Kenski, and three grandchildren. A 10 a.m. funeral Mass will be celebrated June 8 at Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church, 1800 S. Kolb Road.
