The Pollster, The Lobbyist, and The Newsroom: How One Man Runs Oklahoma’s Opinion Machine

Denver, Colorado (The Oklahoma Post) February 11, 2026

They say a pollster, a lobbyist, and a journalist walk into a bar. If that sounds like the setup to a bad joke, welcome to Oklahoma where it’s more of a business model. In this absurd real-life scenario, one enterprising man wears all three hats at once, running an “opinion factory” that churns out poll numbers and sound bites with an admirably straight face.

On January 20, 2026, Oklahoma Watch published a story with a headline designed to move legislation: “Poll Reveals Overwhelming Support for the Right to Sue Insurance Companies.” The article, written by J.C. Hallman and syndicated to papers across the state, reported that 94% of Oklahomans support holding insurance companies accountable when they deny legitimate claims. The expert voice anchoring the piece was Pat McFerron, president of Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates, the firm that conducted the poll.

What the article didn’t tell readers is that McFerron is also a registered lobbyist. Not a casual one. According to his 2023 Oklahoma Ethics Commission filing, McFerron holds both Legislative Lobbyist and Executive Lobbyist registrations through his second company, CMA Strategies Inc., the firm he co-founded with Sharon Hargrave Caldwell. His registered lobbying clients include Koch Industries and its affiliates, the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association, Walmart and seven subsidiaries, BlackRock, Tesla, and more than a dozen other entities with active legislative interests in Oklahoma.

McFerron doesn’t just poll public opinion. He shapes it, sells it, and then walks the halls of the Capitol to convert it into law, all while a “nonprofit” newsroom treats his data as independent journalism.

Two Companies, One Operator

The arrangement is straightforward once you see it. Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates is the polling and research firm. CMA Strategies is the lobbying and political consulting firm. McFerron runs both. They share the same origin story: CHS was founded in 1989 by Tom Cole (now a U.S. Congressman), Sharon Caldwell, and Deby Snodgrass. McFerron joined in 1993. When Cole won his congressional seat in 2002, the consulting and lobbying operations were spun off into CMA Strategies, while CHS narrowed its focus to research. But the personnel never separated. McFerron is president of CHS and founding partner of CMA. Caldwell is managing partner of CHS and co-principal of CMA.

CHS markets itself across three verticals. On its website, the firm advertises election polling for political campaigns, marketplace research for corporations, and, notably, litigation consulting. The firm’s own language promises to help law firms “support a change of venue request, better understand your jury pool, or develop the right messaging for your presentations in civil cases.” CHS claims its “decades of experience, combined with data we gather from our own call center, will give you that advantage against your courtroom competition.”

So the same person who predicts elections for politicians also predicts trial outcomes for litigants and lobbies the legislature on behalf of the entities most likely to benefit from both services.

The Closed Loop

Here’s how the machine operates in practice. A paying client, in this case the Oklahoma State Medical Association, hires CHS to conduct a poll. The poll is designed around questions that frame legislative issues in favorable terms. McFerron himself has acknowledged that framing matters enormously. In a 2017 Oklahoma Watch article about oil and gas taxes, he said: “If you say Oklahoma has the lowest tax in the region and money will be used only for teacher pay, it could be as high as 66 percent, or it could be as low as 23 percent if you say it will hurt jobs.”

Once the poll is conducted, the results are released to biased media like KOTV, The Frontier, CNHI, and of course the Oklahoma Watch, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that bills itself as nonpartisan, publishes the results. McFerron is quoted not as a lobbyist or paid consultant, but as a neutral polling expert. Oklahoma Watch even maintains a tag archive for his name. The article is then syndicated through CNHI News, Public Radio Tulsa, the Duncan Banner, Southwest Oklahoma News, and other outlets statewide. The coverage saturates the state.

Then CMA Strategies, the lobbying arm, carries those same results to the legislators who now face a wall of public opinion data telling them which way to vote. The polling creates the pressure. The journalism amplifies it. The lobbyist delivers the ask. All three steps involve the same man or his companies.

The DA Connection

Among McFerron’s registered lobbying principals is the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association. This is the professional body representing every district attorney in the state. While CMA lobbies for the DA Association at the Legislature and Governor’s office, CHS simultaneously offers litigation consulting services, including jury pool analysis, trial messaging, and venue research, to paying law firms.

The question this raises is not subtle: when the same person lobbies for the organization representing prosecutors and also sells trial prediction services to litigants, where is the ethical boundary? Oklahoma’s Ethics Commission rules require lobbyists to identify which principal they represent when lobbying, but those rules were not written to address a situation where one person controls both the data infrastructure that shapes public opinion about the justice system and the lobbying apparatus that represents participants in that system.

What Oklahoma Watch Doesn’t Disclose

Oklahoma Watch’s editorial policies state that the organization does not allow supporters to “assign, review or edit content.” Its bylaws establish an independent editorial structure. Its board of directors includes journalism professors, a CFO, veteran editors, publishers, and nonprofit leaders. There is no evidence that McFerron or his companies are formal donors.

But the issue isn’t financial influence. It’s informational capture. When your primary polling source is a registered lobbyist whose clients have direct stakes in the policies being covered, disclosing that relationship isn’t optional journalism ethics. It’s basic transparency. Oklahoma Watch’s repeated publication of CHS polling data, with McFerron quoted as an independent authority, creates the appearance of nonpartisan validation for what is, in practice, advocacy research generated by a lobbying firm’s sister company.

CHS was the only polling firm used by Trump as he secured the Republican nomination for President. The firm has operated its own call center in Moore, Oklahoma since 1993. It has directed more than 1,000 research projects across 41 states. None of that is in dispute. What is in dispute is whether a registered lobbyist for Koch Industries, the Oklahoma DA Association, Walmart, BlackRock, and a dozen other entities should be presented to the public as a neutral expert when his own polls are published as news.

The Convenient Villain: When “Right to Sue” Becomes a Campaign Asset

Oklahoma Watch did something it does very well: it found a villain you can recognize in a single headline. State Farm. Big. Rich. Allegedly running a system that pre denies hail and wind roof claims. It is the sort of story that makes every reader nod so hard they risk a neck injury. Of course you should be able to sue an insurance company if it shorts you. That part is not controversial. That part is oxygen.

But here’s where it fits the “opinion machine” theme: the same ecosystem that amplifies polling about the “right to sue” also benefits when the Attorney General steps into court like the star witness in his own press release. On Dec. 4, Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a petition accusing State Farm of violating Oklahoma’s RICO statute, ORICO, and sought to intervene in a large, public-facing case, describing an enterprise-wide scheme to limit payouts. Payouts already capped by the establishment GOP last session. By the end of December, his office announced the judge granted intervention. That is a real legal move with real subpoena power and real political upside.

And that’s the point. When a public official takes a populist position that polls well, the story becomes self-reinforcing: litigation creates headlines, headlines create consensus, consensus creates leverage, and leverage creates more litigation. Citizens may get relief. But the machine also gets something else: a clean narrative that flatters the powerful and makes their allies look like neutral referees rather than interested operators. In Oklahoma, even righteous anger can be monetized. It just depends on who gets to hold the microphone.

Oklahoma deserves polling it can trust and journalism that identifies whose interests are being served. When one person controls the poll, the lobbying firm, and the expert commentary, and a nonprofit newsroom publishes it all without disclosing the connections, the public is being informed by a machine designed to look like news.

In a world this sincerely absurd, you have to laugh, because the alternative is a bit grim. But as you finish this story, don’t be surprised if the laughter catches in your throat. After all, the biggest joke here is that it isn’t a joke at all.

And that’s the real story.

Writing By: Mike Irish | Editing by Robbie Robertson

Editor’s Note: This report synthesizes publicly available records and publications, including lobbying registration records, nonprofit newsroom content, and public statements. Readers should review the linked source documents and draw their own conclusions. The Oklahoma Post is requesting additional documentation and clarifications from relevant parties and will update this story if materially new facts emerge.

Legal Disclaimer: This article is published for informational and journalistic purposes. It contains statements of opinion, commentary, and fair characterization based on disclosed sources, along with factual assertions supported by the cited materials. References to individuals, organizations, and public bodies relate to matters of public concern. Nothing in this publication should be construed as legal advice, and no attorney client relationship is created. If any person or entity believes a factual statement is inaccurate, The Oklahoma Post requests a written notice identifying the specific statement and the supporting documentation for correction or clarification.

Sources

Oklahoma Watch and Syndication

• Oklahoma Watch, Pat McFerron tag archive: https://www.oklahomawatch.org/tag/pat-mcferron/
• Oklahoma Watch, “Expensive Battle Likely if Oil, Gas Tax Hike Goes to Voters” (Nov. 4, 2017): https://www.oklahomawatch.org/2017/11/04/expensive-battle-likely-if-oil-gas-tax-hike-goes-to-voters/
• Oklahoma Watch, Board of Directors: https://www.oklahomawatch.org/board-of-directors/
• Oklahoma Watch, Donors and Financial Transparency: https://www.oklahomawatch.org/donors-and-financial-transparency/
• Oklahoma Watch, Staff: https://www.oklahomawatch.org/staff/
• Public Radio Tulsa, “Poll reveals overwhelming support for the right to sue insurance companies” (Jan. 20, 2026): https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/local-regional/2026-01-20/poll-reveals-overwhelming-support-for-the-right-to-sue-insurance-companies
• CNHI News syndication portal (syndicated pickup reference): https://cnhinews.com/

Firm Websites and Service Descriptions

• CMA Strategies, About Us: https://cmastrategies.com/about-us
• CMA Strategies, Our Team: https://cmastrategies.com/our-team
• Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates (CHS), Home: https://chs-inc.com/
• Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates (CHS), About: https://chs-inc.com/about-2-2/

Oklahoma Ethics Commission (Lobbyist Records and Rules)

• Oklahoma Ethics Commission, Lobbyist information: https://oklahoma.gov/ethics/lobbyist.html
• Oklahoma Ethics Commission, Rules and laws: https://oklahoma.gov/ethics/resources/rules-and-laws.html
• Oklahoma Ethics Commission, Lobbyist Reporting System (search): https://pay.apps.ok.gov/ethics/lobbyist/index.php

Additional Context References

• OKC Rotary Club, “The Changing Landscape of Oklahoma Voters”: https://okcrotary.club/the-changing-landscape-of-oklahoma-voters
• OU Daily, “Political strategist speaks on open primaries” (Apr. 25, 2025): https://www.oudaily.com/
• Yahoo News (The Oklahoman), “Has Oklahoma always trended conservative?” (Aug. 28, 2024): https://www.yahoo.com/news/

Project Files and Uploads (Internal)

• lobbyist_pat_witness_Moyer_V_Murray.pdf (pp. 1–2)
• Opening_Brief_10th_Circuit_Appeal.pdf (pp. 7, 13, 29–30)

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