University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato has called for an investigation into the polling industry after election results showed that poll predictions were way off base.
Sabato, in particular, pointed to the disparity in the results from the races in Virginia, Georgia and Illinois compared to what the polls had suggested,
according to thenewsontime.com.
“I want an investigation of the polls in Virginia,” Sabato said on Fox News’ Fox and Friends.” “They were completely wrong, just as they were in Georgia. They were also way off in Illinois. And I could go on and on.
“Boy, is that an industry that needs some housecleaning. Virginia is a good example. I don’t know whether it was a combination of overconfidence by the Warner people.
“I think certainly a smart campaign by Ed Gillespie who came very close to being a U.S. Senator and now has set himself up to run for governor perhaps in 2017, or another major office. So all elections have consequences beyond the actual day. That’s a good example.”
Democrat Virginia Sen. Mark Warner was the clear
front-runner in the polls for months against the GOP's Gillespie. Although a poll by Vox Populi last week showed Gillespie closing the gap, the survey said he was still four points behind, 44-40 percent.
And although Warner was expected to win easily, Gillespie almost pulled off an upset on Election Day. Warner has claimed victory, but Gillespie is likely to
request a recount and it may be days before the actual result is known.
Republican David Perdue won the Georgia Senate race over Democrat Michelle Nunn by a much wider figure than polls had predicted.
Although Nunn had been leading Perdue in
most polls going into October, since mid-October the polls had gone mostly in Perdue's favor. But the RealClearPolitics average of several polls showed Perdue with just a 2.2 percentage point lead.
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