# Western Pacific Research, Inc.

> Western Pacific Research is a small Bakersfield political consulting firm with an unusually long reach through California Republican politics. Founded by Mark and Cathy Abernathy, it combines voter research, targeting, campaign management, fundraising, media and campaign-finance operations. Its public footprint is less a product catalog than a trail of candidates, filings and protégés - including work associated with Bill Thomas, Kevin McCarthy, Jean Fuller, Shannon Grove, Karen Goh, Vince Fong and the 2003 recall of Governor Gray Davis.

- **Founded:** 1972
- **Headquarters:** Bakersfield, United States
- **Founders:** Mark Abernathy (Co-founder and former president), Cathy Abernathy (Co-founder and president)
- **Team size:** Approximately 12 employees in the supplied company data; public sources do not provide a current audited count.
- **Products:** Campaign strategy and management, Voter and opposition research, Campaign communications, Field and voter contact, Fundraising and campaign events
- **Notable:** The firm’s biography claimed nearly 350 campaigns and a 97% victory rate by 2018; these are company-supplied figures, not an independent audit., Mark Abernathy and Ted Costa helped conceive and lead the successful 2003 recall of California Governor Gray Davis, including petition drafting and signature gathering., Managed campaigns associated with Kevin McCarthy from local office through Congress and worked for McCarthy’s predecessor, Bill Thomas.

## Products & services

- **Campaign strategy and management** — End-to-end planning and management for Republican candidates and ballot efforts at local, state and federal levels.
- **Voter and opposition research** — Identifying opponent strengths and weaknesses, profiling voter groups and finding undecided voters for targeted messages.
- **Campaign communications** — Marketing, campaign literature, mailers, media activity, digital promotion and campaign paraphernalia.
- **Field and voter contact** — Phone-bank and voter-contact operations documented in campaign-finance filings.
- **Fundraising and campaign events** — Fundraising strategy, event organization and related campaign support.
- **Campaign financial services** — Campaign reporting and financial administration; federal filings document this category of work.
- **Business and public-affairs consulting** — The company and team biographies also describe business consulting and government-relations work.

## Achievements

- The firm’s biography claimed nearly 350 campaigns and a 97% victory rate by 2018; these are company-supplied figures, not an independent audit.
- Mark Abernathy and Ted Costa helped conceive and lead the successful 2003 recall of California Governor Gray Davis, including petition drafting and signature gathering.
- Managed campaigns associated with Kevin McCarthy from local office through Congress and worked for McCarthy’s predecessor, Bill Thomas.
- Built a client list spanning mayoral, county, legislative and congressional offices, including Karen Goh, Jean Fuller, Shannon Grove, Vince Fong and Devin Nunes.
- Maintained visible campaign activity after the founder’s 2018 death, with public payments documented through the 2022 and 2026 election cycles.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — A federal filing disclosed $2,500 political-consulting payments to Western Pacific Research dated October 21, 2025 for the 2026 primary cycle.
- **2024-01** — A federal campaign record lists a $40,059 slate-mailer disbursement to Western Pacific Research.
- **2022-12** — Kern County Republican committee records list a $37,238.64 payment for campaign paraphernalia and miscellaneous work.
- **2022-04** — Cathy Abernathy discussed Republican midterm prospects with the Associated Press from her Bakersfield office, saying she did not take a predicted victory for granted.

## Links

- Website: http://www.westernpacificresearch.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/western-pacific-research-inc
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/westernpacificresarchinc

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/western-pacific-research-inc
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-15