PUBLIC RESEARCH DOSSIER · ORGANIZATION

Tavern Research

1 published research record · Latest research 2026-09-16

LIVING DOSSIER

About Tavern Research

Tavern Research now emerges as a documented professional-services crossline across three branches of the network. A primary Way Back PAC FEC Schedule B filed July 30, 2025 reports a $15,000 payment to Tavern Research on April 24, 2025 for 'Research Services - Non-Contribution Account.' Separately, Tavern Research's own 2026 published polling identifies Contours Inc. as the commissioner of likely-voter surveys in Montana and Nebraska; Contours' own Sept. 4, 2025 IRS response had already disclosed that it conducts political research/polling through independent contractors and uses polling internally to inform future programmatic expenditure decisions. Current FEC-derived independent-expenditure data then show The 1861 Initiative—an organization whose initial WFF-related financial/research support is separately documented—reporting Tavern Research as the payee on a $450,000 July 31, 2026 digital-advertising estimate supporting Kansas Senate candidate Noah Taylor. This establishes repeated vendor/professional overlap: Way Back directly purchased research services from Tavern; Contours pu…

From the published research record Tavern Research is a recurring professional-services node across Way Back, Contours and the WFF-backed 1861 Initiative (2026-09-16). Recorded status: PRIMARY/FEC + DIRECT PUBLISHER VERIFIED: Way Back paid Tavern $15K for research in 2025; Contours commissioned Tavern polls in 2026; WFF-backed 1861 later reported a $450K Tavern IE. Shared vendor node verified; data-sharing/coordination not established. Read the record for sources and qualifications. This excerpt has not yet been composed into an editorial biography.

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Connections

Specific connections are being assembled from the published research. A shared mention is not enough to establish a relationship.

Other names appearing in the same research (4)

These are research overlaps for discovery, not documented relationships. Read the underlying records before drawing conclusions.

People

Noah Taylor · 1 shared record

PACs

Way Back PAC · 1 shared record

Organizations

Contours Inc. · 1 shared record
The 1861 Initiative · 1 shared record

SOURCED RECORD

Research & sources

These dated records accumulate as research is published. Each retains its original status, context, and source references.

Connection research · 2026-09-16Tavern Research is a recurring professional-services node across Way Back, Contours and the WFF-backed 1861 Initiative

Recorded status: PRIMARY/FEC + DIRECT PUBLISHER VERIFIED: Way Back paid Tavern $15K for research in 2025; Contours commissioned Tavern polls in 2026; WFF-backed 1861 later reported a $450K Tavern IE. Shared vendor node verified; data-sharing/coordination not established.

Tavern Research now emerges as a documented professional-services crossline across three branches of the network. A primary Way Back PAC FEC Schedule B filed July 30, 2025 reports a $15,000 payment to Tavern Research on April 24, 2025 for 'Research Services - Non-Contribution Account.' Separately, Tavern Research's own 2026 published polling identifies Contours Inc. as the commissioner of likely-voter surveys in Montana and Nebraska; Contours' own Sept. 4, 2025 IRS response had already disclosed that it conducts political research/polling through independent contractors and uses polling internally to inform future programmatic expenditure decisions. Current FEC-derived independent-expenditure data then show The 1861 Initiative—an organization whose initial WFF-related financial/research support is separately documented—reporting Tavern Research as the payee on a $450,000 July 31, 2026 digital-advertising estimate supporting Kansas Senate candidate Noah Taylor. This establishes repeated vendor/professional overlap: Way Back directly purchased research services from Tavern; Contours publicly commissioned Tavern polling; and a WFF-backed candidate-support super PAC later used Tavern for a large reported independent expenditure. It does NOT establish that Tavern shared data across clients, that the same research was reused, that WFF selected Tavern for the 1861 Initiative, or that Way Back/Contours/WFF coordinated strategy. The services also differ by transaction: Way Back explicitly reported 'Research Services,' Contours commissioned polling, while the 1861 FEC row labels the later expenditure 'Digital Advertising - Estimate.'

Sources

Way Back PAC July 2025 FEC Form 3X Schedule B — Schedule B page 27, transaction 501245176

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