Polling guru Nate Silver accuses pollsters of making race look closer than it is
Anyone with a pulse is aware that Vice President Kamala Harris and her presidential campaign are barely treading water at this point and by nearly all measurable and relevant metrics, are losing the battle.
But depending on the media outlet, voters might be hearing a different story, and election guru Nate Silver believes that some of the Democrat-friendly outlets are putting their "finger on the scale" to make the race appear closer than it really is.
According to the New York Post, Silver, one of the most popular pollsters in the game, slammed many of his colleagues for playing dirty with the data and making it appear as though Harris isn't losing as badly to former President Donald Trump than she really is.
He believes some of the other pollsters are "recycling" old data to rig the results.
What's going on?
What incentive would there be for other pollsters to make it look closer than it is? Because if it was already predicted to be a total blowout, even less Harris voters would turn up to the polls.
During a recent podcast, Silver held nothing back as he destroyed his colleagues in the polling game.
“I kind of trust pollsters less,” Silver said on his podcast, calling out Emerson College.
He added, “They all, every time a pollster [says] ‘Oh, every state is just plus-one, every single state’s a tie,’ no! You’re f***ing herding! You’re cheating! You’re cheating!”
"Your numbers aren’t all going to come out at exactly one-point leads when you’re sampling 800 people over dozens of surveys,” Silver continued, adding "You are lying! You’re putting your f***ing finger on the scale!'”
The New York Post noted:
Trump, 78, is currently leading Harris, 60, in both the national (+0.3%) and swing-state (+0.9%) averages of recent polls aggregated by RealClearPolitics.
The two were deadlocked in the final New York Times/Siena College poll earlier this month at 48%.
Silver was slightly less data-driven in a recent Times op-ed on the contest, in which he admitted his “gut says” Trump will win.
Trump will win, his gut says
Silver, who previously said the election would be a close one, now believes Trump will run away with the election.
“In an election where the seven battleground states are all polling within a percentage point or two, 50-50 is the only responsible forecast,” Silver wrote.
“Yet when I deliver this unsatisfying news, I inevitably get a question: ‘C’mon, Nate, what’s your gut say?’” he went on. “So OK, I’ll tell you. My gut says Donald Trump. And my guess is that it is true for many anxious Democrats."
Many agree with Silver, as Trump's momentum keeps building at just the right moment. Harris definitely cannot say the same.