Who will become our next president? Pollsters are always trying to gauge the direction of public opinion on the candidates, but the results of those polls can feel bigger—more significant entering an election season. It can feel like there’s a new poll every few days telling us how Americans feel about the current state of affairs and how that will influence how they’ll vote.
Polls telling us how much Americans dislike President Biden and former President Trump, polls predicting which issues will drive voters to the polls and how they’re expected to vote because of all of it. But history shows us pollsters can get it wrong. Today, we learn more about how pollsters do their job and how significant polls really are, especially when the election is still many months away. Our guest says much of the data we’re getting right now doesn’t really matter—but it will soon.
Dr. Mark Schulman served as Time magazine’s pollster for almost ten years, and he worked on the ABC News Election Decision Desk for many years. Dr. Schulman became President of the American Association for Public Opinion Research 2002. He co-founded one the nation's largest public opinion/survey research firms, Scientific Research Based Interventions or SRBI, which is now part of Abt Associates.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
