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Connections

How to parse data from presidential polling

A man with short curly light brown hair, glasses, and a short beard, wearing a black zip-up sweatshirt
Provided
Joseph Burgess

The polls don't mean anything... until they do, of course, but when is that point?

Last fall, we heard that presidential polling was far too early to mean much. What about now? A recent poll of seven critical swing states found Donald Trump leading President Biden in all seven. Some Democrats panicked while others ignored those numbers.

We discuss the nuances of polling; the likelihood that different candidates would be faring better or worse; how to parse demographic data; and more with our guest:

  • Joseph Burgess, team leader at the Social Sciences Data Lab at the University of Copenhagen
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.