In the wake of the 2016 election, Donald Trump called polls unfavorable to him everything from “fake” to “phony”. The polls, of course, are neither, but that’s beside the point. Americans have become so collectively distrustful of polls, especially after they seemed to suggest Hillary Clinton would win the election, that the president’s attempts to discredit the practice entirely have gained real traction.
That’s where Anthony Salvanto, director of elections and surveys for CBS News, comes in. In his new book Where Did You Get This Number? A Pollster’s Guide to Making Sense of the World, Salvanto begins on election night, the events of which surprised him less than they did most Americans. He proceeds, in digestible and timely fashion, to demystify the world of polling and pollsters. Salvanto spoke to the Guardian about how we ought to think of political campaigns, his strategy for the upcoming midterms and why you’re probably represented in a poll even if you’ve never been asked to take part in one. CONT.
Jake Nevins, Guardian