For Republicans, one of the worst parts of the GOP’s 2012 trouncing was that they didn’t see it coming.
Top party strategists and officials always knew there was a chance that President Barack Obama would get reelected, or that Republicans wouldn’t gain control of the Senate. But down to the final days of the national campaign, few anticipated the severe setbacks that Republicans experienced on Nov. 6.
The reason: Across the party’s campaigns, committees and super PACs, internal polling gave an overly optimistic read on the electorate. …
“On the Republican side, this was the worst cycle ever for polling and there’s nothing that even comes close to it,” said GOP strategist Curt Anderson, who helms the media and polling firm OnMessage. “It was a colossal disaster and it wasn’t confined to the presidential campaign.” [cont.]
Alexander Burns, Politico