Pop Quiz

Legacy blog posts Pollsters

Blogger Dalythoughts dug into the 2002 post-election analysis by the National Council on Public Polls (NCCP) and discovered what can happen when a pollster weights every survey by party ID.

Did you know that one pollster ‘called’ over 29% of the 2002 Senate and/or Gubernatorial races for the wrong candidate, despite polling more races than all but one other company…And that the average for everybody else was getting about 13% of the races wrong, by comparison? No peeking. Can you name this pollster?

Click here for the answer. I’ll give you a hint. The name was mentioned in the last post and starts with a Z.

Daly’s post reminds me to highly recommend the excellent resources of National Council on Public Polls, especially their 20 questions a journalist should ask and frequently asked questions from the public.

PS: Thanks to Dalythoughts for the link to us

Mark Blumenthal

Mark Blumenthal is political pollster with deep and varied experience across survey research, campaigns, and media. The original "Mystery Pollster" and co-creator of Pollster.com, he explains complex concepts to a multitude of audiences and how data informs politics and decision-making. A researcher and consultant who crafts effective questions and identifies innovative solutions to deliver results. An award winning political journalist who brings insights and crafts compelling narratives from chaotic data.