Midterm Election FAQ: Can We Trust the Polls? Are Democrats Doomed?

Plain English with Derek Thompson

The Ringer

News Commentary, News

4.7 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 October 2022

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We’re coming down to the wire, and Democrats' hopes of holding onto the Senate and the House are fading fast. Two months ago, the story was that Democrats seemed poised to pull off an upset and hold onto the Senate despite the fact that the party in power almost always loses seats in the midterm election. But now, the Senate looks like a toss-up. It’s not just Democrats who are facing challenges this year—pollsters are too. Error margins are rising as fewer people are responding to survey calls. That means we’re flying half-blind out there: Political campaigns, commentators, and voters can’t be sure that the polling averages that they’re seeing in the news are an accurate reflection of reality. Today's guest is Kristen Soltis Anderson, a Republican pollster and the co-founder of Echelon Insights. We discuss the closest races in Georgia and Pennsylvania, whether Donald Trump is an overall help or hindrance to the GOP, and why the golden age of polling is over. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. You can find us on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@plainenglish_ Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Kristen Soltis Anderson Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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1:32.0	Today's episode is about the midterm elections.
1:34.0	We're coming down to the wire and Democrats hopes of holding on to the Senate and the House are fading fast.
1:40.0	Two months ago the story was the Democrats seemed poised to pull off an upset and hold on to the Senate,
1:48.0	despite the fact that the party in power just about always loses in the midterm election.
	...

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