Louis Harris (January 6, 1921 – December 17, 2016) was an American opinion polling entrepreneur, journalist, and author.

He followed Elmo Roper and George Gallup in using and improving the art and the techniques of opinion polling.

He attended New Haven High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated in 1942.

In 1960 Harris became the first presidential pollster, working for the campaign of John F. Kennedy, who was elected U.S. President that year.

[4] Kennedy had initially hired Harris in 1958 for assistance with his campaign for re-election to the US Senate; following that re-election, Harris persuaded Kennedy to run for the presidency, and had much advice on how to achieve that goal, using his opinion polling techniques.

Then from 1969 to 1988, his columns were written for The Chicago Tribune-New York Daily News Syndicate, appearing in over 100 newspapers.