For decades polling has suggested that, in general, more Americans are sympathetic the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. That advantage has been so durable that it’s become part of the conventional wisdom of American politics. But a recent Gallup poll shows Republicans taking the lead over Democrats, 47 percent to 42 percent, in terms of how Americans identify. The poll has been the subject of plenty of commentary and in this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, the crew debates whether those takeaways and underlying data are a “good or bad use of polling.”
The team also debates which races are likely to be the most important in determining control of the Senate next year among Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Georgia and New Hampshire.
You can listen to the episode by clicking the “play” button in the audio player above or by downloading it in iTunes, the ESPN App or your favorite podcast platform. If you are new to podcasts, learn how to listen.
The FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast is recorded Mondays and Thursdays. Help new listeners discover the show by leaving us a rating and review on iTunes. Have a comment, question or suggestion for “good polling vs. bad polling”? Get in touch by email, on Twitter or in the comments.
