Patrick Basham is a political commentator and analyst specializing in U.S. elections, public opinion, libertarian policy, tobacco regulation, and electoral politics. Prior to his roles as a former senior fellow at the Cato Institute and founding director of the Democracy Institute—a conservative think tank—he served as the founding director of the Social Affairs Centre at the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think tank, where he focused on policy research. He has authored or edited several books, including 'Tobacco or Health in the 1990s' and works critiquing government intervention in vice industries. Basham has contributed to major newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New York Times, and appeared on media outlets like Fox News and C-SPAN. He gained prominence for contrarian election predictions, accurately forecasting Donald Trump's 2016 victory and expressing confidence in a 2020 win despite polling data, which earned praise from conservatives and criticism for downplaying Biden's leads. His work aligns with libertarian and conservative viewpoints, advocating for free markets and skepticism toward public health measures like tobacco control, where he has faced accusations of industry ties through past affiliations, though he denies direct funding influence.