Walter DeWitt Clinton

1937 - 2024

Walter DeWitt Clinton

February 10, 1937 - March 4, 2024

Holmes Beach, Florida - Wally Clinton, 87, died on March 4 in Bradenton from lung disease. Wally was an innovative, veteran political consultant whose career spanned more than five decades and included work on all levels of campaigns-from local to national, from city officials to presidents. Wally helped pioneer grass-roots communication methods, voter data collection techniques, and campaign tactics into strategies for winning elections.

Wally lived in Washington, D.C. for more than 30 years and was part of the first and formative generation of political consultants. He started his career working on Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign for Matt Reese, widely considered to be the dean of modern political consulting. Wally worked on more than 600 political campaigns in the United States and abroad, including Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter; Sens. Joseph Biden, Edward M. Kennedy, Frank Church, Scoop Jackson, Tammy Baldwin, and Mary Landrieu; Governors Martha Layne Collins, Ann Richards, and Rafael Hernández Colón; presidential hopefuls George McGovern and Hubert Humphrey; as well as ballot initiatives, issue campaigns, and all levels of local officials and union leadership campaigns.

Wally was a pioneering phone bank specialist. He championed the "listening cycle" of effective political communication, whereby candidates could establish a relationship with voters over multiple communication channels, which more reliably resulted in people voting. Wally advocated a two-way, high-touch approach to voter persuasion, a break from the historical model in which candidates relied entirely on polls and mass media advertising. Wally also successfully innovated the technology used by campaigns by building one of the forerunners to the modern auto-dialer in his DC living room using eight-track tapes and phone lines.

Wally was born in the Highland Park neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan in 1937. In 1961, he enlisted in the Army, as he said, to "keep himself out of trouble." He credited his Army service with teaching him the importance of discipline and structure. He was honorably discharged while at Fort Devens in Massachusetts, after sitting on the tarmac awaiting the call to action during the Cuban Missile Crisis and just before his unit deployed to Vietnam.

Wally's beloved late sister Elizabeth Dixon Abernethy, of Washington, introduced him to Reese. Wally was officially "bitten by the political bug" after a paid position on Bobby Kennedy's campaign, and he never looked back. Wally married his life's love, Geraldine Luszki Clinton of Detroit when the RFK campaign ended. The newlyweds moved to Washington, D.C. the very next day.

In 1971, Mr. Clinton struck out on his own, founding The Clinton Group. He envisioned modernizing political communication through creating relationships with voters. He would explain that "we live in an age demanding 'warm and fuzzy' but the political dialogue is usually cold and barren." Wally invented new ways of combining direct mail and phone banking tactics with demographic data, polling, and computer techniques with the goal of identifying specific subsets of voters and delivering targeted messages to persuade them into acting based on issues that they found particularly significant. In 1986, Wally started The Communications Center, Inc. to capitalize on the growth of the data-driven polling industry. The two companies eventually merged and formed the American Directions Research Group, an over 40 year old data research collection firm with extensive experience working with government and nonprofit organizations, that continues to successfully operate today.

The American Association of Political Consultants recognized and honored Wally's remarkable career and leadership in 2003 by awarding him with a lifetime achievement award.

Wally succeeded as a communications innovator in part because he knew how to make a point with persistence and good humor. Coming from humble beginnings and lacking a traditional education, he believed passionately in the potential of electoral democracy to improve lives, especially for marginalized groups. He lived a purpose-driven life defined by his values of humility, integrity, and fairness, and he always had a hopeful eye towards the future.

Wally was known for his booming laugh, quick wit and ability to tell a great story. He loved baseball, Motown music and crossword puzzles. But his favorite thing to do was to spend time with his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Geraldine Clinton; three children, Anne Clinton, John Clinton and Walter Clinton III; five grandchildren; his sister Ann and his brother Owen; and many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

A celebration of life will be held in Washington, D.C. on May 25. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Wally's honor to the Southern Poverty Law Center.