Joseph Napolitan, a campaign consultant whose use of polling and media advertising heralded the rise of independent strategists like himself and the waning power of party organizations in the management of American political campaigns, died on Dec. 2 in Agawam, Mass. He was 84. …
Two upset victories [in the mid-1960s] helped Mr. Napolitan seal his reputation as a master of the long shot. … In both races, Mr. Napolitan’s use of weekly polls to fine-tune his candidates’ media messaging, almost unheard-of at the time, was considered decisive. CONT.
Paul Vitello, New York Times