Pollster Doesn’t Trust Own Numbers

Quinnipiac put out a poll yesterday that showed Barack Obama leading John McCain in Minnesota by only two points.  This after the same pollster reported a 17 point Obama lead in June.  I’m not sure what could possible explain such a dramatic Obama collapse, and niether is Quinnipiac.  In fact, the very pollster who administered the poll was downplaying its results in an AP article:

The poll of likely Minnesota voters conducted by Quinnipiac University has Obama up 46 to 44. It’s within the survey’s margin of sampling error, meaning the race is considered about even. Last month, the same pollsters put Obama 17-percentage points ahead of McCain.

Clay Richards, the assistant director of the Connecticut university’s polling institute, said the Obama slide probably isn’t as dramatic as the raw numbers reflect. Still, Richards said McCain is clearly stronger in the state than he was in June.

You know a poll isn’t credible if the pollster himself won’t stand behind the results.

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