What’s wrong with polling?

Post Reports

The Washington Post

Daily News, Politics, News

4.4 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 November 2020

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Campaign strategists and the public were led to believe that Democrats were headed for a wave. Election results have told a different story, just as they did four years ago. And, the next steps for a promising coronavirus vaccine.

Polls fell short again in 2020. Political reporter Michael Scherer discusses what that means for future elections.

Carolyn Y. Johnson explains the next steps for Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, which the company finds is 90 percent effective in early data from its vaccine trial.

Our colleague Lillian Cunningham’s podcast “Presidential” has a new episode, all about Joe Biden: Triumph, tragedy and the fate of the center.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	From the newsroom of the Washington Post.
0:07.0	It's Robert Samuels from the Washington Post.
0:09.0	Post is Sarah Kaplan.
0:11.0	Hi, this is Elaheiz Adi with the Washington Post.
0:14.0	This is Post Reports.
0:16.0	I'm Martin Powers.
0:19.0	It's Thursday, November 12.
0:24.0	Today, where the polls went wrong in the 2020 election?
0:29.0	And the next step for a promising coronavirus vaccine.
0:38.0	So, describe for me what exactly were major polls predicting in the lead up to election day?
0:45.0	So the public polling average had the national polling lead of Vice President Biden at eight to ten points.
0:51.0	Pretty dramatic and decisive win.
0:54.0	Michael Sheer recovers politics for the post.
0:56.0	And as it got closer to November 3rd, Michael, like most of the country, was seeing some really favorable numbers for Joe Biden.
1:07.0	New NBC polling shows Biden nearly doubling his lead with a 14-point advantage over Trump.
1:13.0	Sorry, NBC Wall Street Journal poll has Biden ahead by ten.
1:16.0	But in the key swing states in the North.
1:20.0	They've got a seven-point lead in the new poll for Biden and Michigan.
1:23.0	Michigan.
1:24.0	E in Wisconsin.
1:26.0	Wisconsin.
1:27.0	And then five, a little bit closer in Pennsylvania.
	...

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