Decision Desk HQ
Decision Desk HQ provides real-time and historical U.S. election results, race projections, and proprietary forecasts to television broadcasters, digital news publishers, financial institutions, and AI platforms via APIs, embeddable widgets, and tiered broadcast licensing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersAlexandria, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Decision Desk HQ does
Decision Desk HQ is a privately held U.S. election data infrastructure company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. The company collects, normalizes, and distributes real-time and historical U.S. election results across federal, state, and local races, covering 100,000+ contests per cycle across all 50 states and DC, with historical data extending back to 2000. Its core technology is a real-time data collection and statistical modeling stack that powers race calls, county-level projections, and embeddable visualization, delivered through APIs, embeddable widgets, dashboards, and customized feeds. The product portfolio centers on the DDHQ Votes interactive platform, the Votes Broadcasting tool for network-grade on-air coverage, the proprietary DDHQ Forecast model (200+ base features, 14,000,605 simulations per run, peer-reviewed in the Harvard Data Science Review), the normalized Elections Archive, AAPOR-compliant Poll Averages, and prediction market integrations with Polymarket and Kalshi.
Decision Desk HQ monetizes primarily through tiered annual broadcast licensing ($15,000 to $30,000+ per outlet, scaled to audience reach), recurring API and embed licensing for digital publishers and platforms, enterprise data subscriptions for financial institutions (serving clients with combined AUM over $500 billion) and AI platforms (LLM training data), and professional services for election night coverage support. Its go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales to media organizations, channel/partnership-driven distribution via The Hill, Ballotpedia, NewsNation, Vox, The Economist, Europe Elects, and The Canadian Press, and an API-first motion for technology and financial clients. The company is bootstrapped, with no disclosed venture funding, and operates with an 11–50 person team, having acquired Elections-Daily.com (2021) and assembled an advisory board drawn from OpenAI, Facebook, SurveyMonkey, Pew Research, CNN, and CBS.
Decision Desk HQ firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Decision Desk HQ
- Legal name
- Decision Desk HQ, LLC
- Website
- https://decisiondeskhq.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Decision Desk HQ provides real-time and historical U.S. election results, race projections, and proprietary forecasts to television broadcasters, digital news publishers, financial institutions, and AI platforms via APIs, embeddable widgets, and tiered broadcast licensing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Decision Desk HQ industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Election Data and Analytics
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Reference Data Management (RDM) (HDAEADAE)
Keywords
Where Decision Desk HQ is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Alexandria
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Decision Desk HQ business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Broadcast Licensing (Votes Broadcasting): Tiered annual licensing fees for television broadcasters based on audience size, providing right to broadcast election results and use DDHQ data during coverage
- API and Embed Licensing: Data API subscriptions and embed licensing for digital news publishers and technology platforms requiring real-time election data integration
- Enterprise Data Subscriptions: Enterprise-level data subscriptions for financial institutions and research organizations requiring comprehensive election intelligence
- Professional Services: Election night coverage support services including expert analysts and technical integration assistance for broadcast clients
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Up to 499,999 audience reach |
| Subscription | Annual | 500,000 - 999,999 audience reach |
| Subscription | Annual | 1,000,000 - 1,999,999 audience reach |
| Subscription | Annual | 2,000,000 - 4,999,999 audience reach |
| Subscription | Annual | 5,000,000+ audience reach |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Decision Desk HQ product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) provides real-time U.S. election results, race projections, and historical election datasets delivered via API, embeddable widgets, dashboards, and customized feeds. The company covers 100,000+ federal, state, and local races per cycle with county-level granularity, supporting media organizations, financial institutions, and AI platforms with election intelligence.
Product overview
Decision Desk HQ offers a unified platform of election data products and services. The core offering centers on DDHQ Votes, an interactive platform for live and historical election results from 2000 to present, paired with Votes Broadcasting for network-quality broadcast coverage. Supporting products include Election Results (API/embed delivery for 100,000+ elections), Election Data Products (poll averages, forecast models, The Pulse), Election Intelligence (enterprise analysis), Elections Archive (historical data), and prediction market integration (Polymarket and Kalshi). All products are delivered through flexible delivery options including APIs, embeddable results, dashboards, and customized feeds.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Decision Desk HQ News: A separate entity focused on expanding the breadth and depth of election coverage beyond election night results, working with election and politics focused sites.
- DDHQ Votes
- DDHQ Election Pulse
Quantifiable outcome
- First to correctly project winner of 2020 U.S. presidential election, House, and Senate races
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Decision Desk HQ
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Decision Desk HQ technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability2 records
Feature4 records
Decision Desk HQ partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- The HillcoreThe Hill partnered with Decision Desk HQ for election coverage and data. DDHQ provides real-time election results, race projections, and data visualization for The Hill's digital and broadcast coverage. The partnership positions The Hill as a leading source for election night coverage with accurate, transparent methodology.
- BallotpediacoreBallotpedia partners with DDHQ for real-time local election results. DDHQ provides comprehensive coverage of up to 65,000 local elections per cycle, which Ballotpedia integrates into its voter education platform. This partnership significantly expands DDHQ's reach into the civic engagement ecosystem.
- Georgetown McCourt SchoolminorGeorgetown McCourt School partnered with DDHQ for the 2024 Election Hub, providing academic analysis and research capabilities alongside DDHQ's real-time election data. This partnership adds academic credibility and research depth.
- NewsNationcoreNewsNation leverages DDHQ data for its Election Night coverage. The partnership provides NewsNation with real-time race calls, projections, and data visualization tools for broadcast television. DDHQ analysts also provide expert commentary during coverage.
- Europe ElectsminorEurope Elects provides German election results and analysis to DDHQ's international coverage, expanding DDHQ's European election data capabilities through this reciprocal data-sharing partnership.
- Inside Elections with Nathan GonzalesminorInside Elections with Nathan Gonzales partnered with DDHQ for election night coverage, combining Inside Elections' analytical expertise with DDHQ's data infrastructure for comprehensive coverage.
- The Canadian PressminorThe Canadian Press partnered with DDHQ for Canadian election coverage, extending DDHQ's international data capabilities to North American neighbors and expanding geographic reach.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Decision Desk HQ competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Associated Press (AP): The dominant U.S. election data provider, supplying vote results, race calls, and AP VoteCast to most major broadcast and cable networks. AP and DDHQ compete head-to-head for the same media customers, with AP holding incumbent relationships and DDHQ positioning on speed, transparency, and mid-market pricing.
- Edison Research: Conducts the National Election Pool exit polls and provides election research and vote tally services to major U.S. media organizations. Edison's exit poll franchise and AP partnership make it the closest direct competitor on the data-collection and projection side of DDHQ's business.
Emerging players
- Cook Political Report: Independent political analysis and race-rating subscription service used by campaigns, media, and political professionals. While narrower than DDHQ's data infrastructure, Cook overlaps on election intelligence and shares the same audience of political media and campaign buyers.
- Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales: Election analysis and ratings service and existing DDHQ partner for election night coverage. Competes in the same political intelligence niche and serves an overlapping media and campaign customer base.
- Sabato's Crystal Ball (UVA Center for Politics): Academic election forecasting and analysis publication from the University of Virginia. Competes indirectly for audience attention and media citations on election projections and forecasts, though operating on a non-commercial editorial model.
- RealClearPolitics: Polling aggregator and political news site that curates and averages public polling data. Overlaps with DDHQ's Poll Averages and forecast offerings on the polling data layer, particularly for media and political audiences seeking consolidated signals.
- Ballotpedia: Nonpartisan civic encyclopedia covering candidates, ballot measures, and local elections across all 50 states. Existing DDHQ partner (up to 65,000 local races per cycle) and adjacent competitor in the voter education and local-election data space.
- Morning Consult: Enterprise polling and market intelligence firm serving Fortune 500 brands, financial institutions, and media. Competes in the political polling and election intelligence subscription segment that DDHQ targets through its Election Intelligence product.
- Marist Poll: University-based public opinion polling operation with strong national political polling coverage and media relationships. Adjacent competitor in the election polling space, particularly for national and battleground state surveys cited by media clients.
Broad incumbents
- Gallup: Established global analytics and polling firm with decades of brand recognition in political and public opinion research. Broader incumbent that overlaps with DDHQ on public opinion polling and political sentiment measurement, though at a much larger scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Decision Desk HQ social profiles
Digital presenceDecision Desk HQ financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Decision Desk HQ leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Decision Desk HQ subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Decision Desk HQ funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Decision Desk HQ M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Decision Desk HQ
What does Decision Desk HQ do?
Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) provides real-time U.S. election results, race projections, and historical election datasets delivered via API, embeddable widgets, dashboards, and customized feeds. The company covers 100,000+ federal, state, and local races per cycle with county-level granularity, supporting media organizations, financial institutions, and AI platforms with election intelligence.
Is Decision Desk HQ a public or private company?
Decision Desk HQ is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Decision Desk HQ founded?
Decision Desk HQ was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Decision Desk HQ based?
Decision Desk HQ is headquartered in Alexandria, United States, in the North America region.
How does Decision Desk HQ make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Broadcast Licensing (Votes Broadcasting) is the primary driver. The others are API and Embed Licensing, enterprise Data Subscriptions and professional Services.
Who are Decision Desk HQ's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Associated Press (AP) and Edison Research. Emerging players are Cook Political Report, Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales, Sabato's Crystal Ball (UVA Center for Politics), RealClearPolitics, Ballotpedia, Morning Consult and Marist Poll. Gallup is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Decision Desk HQ have an API?
Yes. DDHQ delivers election data through APIs, embeddable results, dashboards, and customized feeds designed for seamless integration across broadcast, digital, and enterprise systems. The Elections Archive is fully normalized and optimized for access through their API, as a standalone licensed database, or through customized datasets created with their engineering team. Developer documentation is at votes-docs.decisiondeskhq.com.
What industry is Decision Desk HQ in?
Decision Desk HQ's product category is Election Data and Analytics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEADAE, Reference Data Management (RDM). Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7370.