Polling is 'done,' says pollster


Did 2020 kill the polling industry? A lot of analysts, and even some pollsters, sure think so.
Prominent GOP pollster Frank Luntz told Axios that the election "has been devastating for my industry," which he thinks is "done."
Politico's Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman, meanwhile, said "polling is a wreck and should be blown up."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Most polls had the Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, unseating President Trump. That remains feasible, but the criticism of the industry is being waged primarily because of the margins. Biden still has a path to 270 or more electoral votes if he picks up crucial swing states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, but many surveys had him winning those states in much clearer fashion. A narrow Biden victory, therefore, may wind up proving to be an even bigger indictment of pollsters than Hillary Clinton's loss in 2016. Tim O'Donnell
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Democrats: Solving the 'man problem'
Feature Democrats are spending millions to win back young men
-
Deportations: A crackdown on legal migrants
Feature The Supreme Court will allow Trump to revoke protections for over 500,000 immigrants
-
Trump's extremist 'brain'
Feature Stephen Miller has emerged as an unrivaled power within the White House. What does he want?
-
Colombian senator shot on streets of Bogotá
speed read Miguel Uribe Turbay, who has announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election, was shot at a rally
-
Trump says Putin vowed retaliation for Kyiv strike
speed read The Russian president intends to respond to Ukraine's weekend drone strikes on Moscow's warplanes
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as president
speed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment
-
Nationalist wins tight Polish presidential election
speed read Karol Nawrocki beat Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland's presidential runoff election
-
Ukraine hits Russia's bomber fleet in stealth drone attack
speed read The operation, which destroyed dozens of warplanes, is the 'biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long-range bomber fleet'
-
Starving Gazans overrun US-backed food aid hub
speed read Israeli troops fired warning shots at the Palestinians
-
Israel's Western allies pull back amid Gaza escalation
speed read Britain and the EU are reconsidering allegiance with Israel as the Gaza siege continues