When covering Tuesday’s gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN and the Associated Press will share the same exit poll data, as they have on every Election Day since forming a consortium called the National Election Pool in 2003. But Fox News, a member of the […] Read more »
Polling techniques may account for erratic predictions in Virginia
At first blush, polling in Virginia’s closely watched race for governor looks all over the map, from a 17-point lead for Democrat Ralph Northam to an 8-point advantage for Republican Ed Gillespie. But what might appear to be a breakdown in pollster reliability may have a much simpler explanation: Not […] Read more »
Are Third Way’s Focus Groups Valid Research?
Much attention has been lavished on this Molly Ball piece in The Atlantic on the centrist think tank Third Way’s listening tour across America. In it, Ms. Ball subtly fillets the Third Way’s domestic anthropologists in their search for answers that already align with the group’s preconceptions about a fundamentally […] Read more »
Why the polls are still wrong
The polls that failed to detect the full strength of President Trump on Election Day continue to underestimate the president’s support for the job he is doing, paying way too much attention to the Twitter wars and ignoring the public support for many of the actions is undertaking. This can […] Read more »
How Do Americans Feel About The NFL Protests? It Depends On How You Ask.
The debate over NFL player protests was reignited on Sunday when Vice President Mike Pence left an Indianapolis Colts game early after a number of players on the visiting San Francisco 49ers kneeled during the national anthem. (At least one player on the team has kneeled during the anthem every […] Read more »
Surveys are hard work
John Villasenor’s study on free speech attitudes among college students has received some attention. In one of the questions he asked, only 47% of students favored, “an open learning environment where students are exposed to all types of speech and viewpoints, even if it means allowing speech that is offensive […] Read more »