• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics

The 2020 election’s polling errors are eerily similar to four years ago

By
Lance Lambert
Lance Lambert
Former Real Estate Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Lance Lambert
Lance Lambert
Former Real Estate Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 1, 2020, 10:15 AM ET

Our mission to make business better is fueled by readers like you. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today.

Joe Biden was forecast to win the election comfortably with wide margins. And while he did pull out a victory—claiming 306 electors—the state-level results are much closer than expected: The Democratic nominee was forecast by Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight to win Wisconsin by 8.3 percentage points and Pennsylvania by 4.7 points, however, he took the states by only 0.6 points and 1.2 points, respectively.

So just how far off are pollsters and forecasters?

Now that most states have certified their election results, Fortune calculated 2020 model/polling errors. The difference between a battleground state’s projected margin and the final result is its “polling error.”

We found that polling errors this cycle are on par with those of 2016. In the 14 battleground states, FiveThirtyEight was off by an average margin of 4.1 points in 2020.* In those same battleground states, FiveThirtyEight was off by an average margin of 3.4 points in 2016. Talk about déjà vu.

This time around the backlash to pollsters is likely subdued by the fact that the forecasted 2020 winner (Biden) came out on top. Despite similarly big model errors in both years, FiveThirtyEight got the winner wrong in only two states this year: Florida and North Carolina. In 2016, that happened in five states: Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

And it wasn’t just FiveThirtyEight. The Economist’s model was off by an average margin of 4.5 points in 2020 battleground states, according to Fortune calculations. RealClearPolitics poll averages were off by an average of 2.9 points in 2020, compared with an average miss of 3 points in 2016. The industry goal is to keep those figures under 2 points.

Almost without exception, 2020 model and polling errors were in Trump’s favor. The Republican outperformed FiveThirtyEight’s forecast in all 14 battleground states with his biggest surprises coming in the Midwest. The largest error came in Wisconsin where Trump outperformed the model by 7.7 points. That was followed by Ohio, where Trump won and outperformed the model by 7.4 points, and Iowa, where the President pulled out a win following a 6.8 point swing in his favor.

The President’s strong performance in the Badger State might have even been a shock to the Trump campaign. In the final weeks of the campaign, Trump was pulling ads in the state and moving money to Pennsylvania. In the end, Biden’s Pennsylvania win (1.2 points) was twice the size of his Wisconsin win (0.6 points).

These polling errors—especially in the Midwest—are eerily similar to those from four years ago. In fact, FiveThirtyEight’s three biggest battleground misses in 2020 are the same three states where it had the largest model errors in 2016: Iowa (6.6 points), Ohio (6.2 points), and Wisconsin (6.0 points).

Following the big battleground misses in 2016, a study commissioned by the American Association for Public Opinion Research concluded polling—which feeds models like FiveThirtyEight’s—had missed some of Trump’s white working-class vote by not weighing survey populations by education. Heading into 2020, many pollsters revised their methodologies to account for that error. But the similarly big 2020 polling misses show that alone didn’t fix it.

So what exactly is driving the errors?

A leading theory: Trump supporters are simply less likely to respond to pollsters. The President has repeatedly called unfavorable polls “fake news.” Supporting this theory is the fact that in recent years telephone polls have seen their response rates decline. Dan Wagner, CEO of Civis Analytics and former chief analytics officer for Barack Obama’s 2012 election campaign, told Fortune that these non-responding Trump supporters are likely contributing to the polling errors. To help account for the issue, Civis Analytics, which does work for Democratic campaigns, increased its investments in outreach methods and statistical controls prior to the election cycle.

The title for most accurate pollster this cycle goes to IBD/TIPP, which had Biden up 4 points nationally. As of Tuesday, Biden leads Trump in the popular vote by 4 points, well under the RealClearPolitics national poll average of 7.2 points. Raghavan Mayur, president of TechnoMetrica (IBD’s polling partner), told Fortune they were successful by not relying on one single polling method, instead using a combination of outreach by mobile phone, landline, and online.

So what’s the deal for future election cycles? Expect pollsters to do some serious soul-searching and evaluations of their methodologies.

*Battleground states as determined by Fortune include Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.

About the Author
By Lance LambertFormer Real Estate Editor
Twitter icon

Lance Lambert is a former Fortune editor who contributes to the Fortune Analytics newsletter.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Politics

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Politics

frank
PoliticsObituary
Barney Frank, legendary liberal who ripped into left-wing dysfunction on his death bed, dies at 86
By Steven Sloan and The Associated PressMay 20, 2026
5 hours ago
bezos
Personal FinanceNew York City
Jeff Bezos on Zohran Mamdani’s big mistake: ‘When you don’t know how to solve a problem, create a villain, blame them’
By Nick LichtenbergMay 20, 2026
6 hours ago
electrical transmission lines hang over a housing development on March 24, 2026 in Sylmar, California.
EnergyElectricity
2025 was a turning point for your electricity bill and it’s just getting more expensive from here. It’s not just data centers
By Tristan BoveMay 20, 2026
6 hours ago
cassidy
PoliticsElections
Anti-Trump Republicans are dead pols walking. Call them the ‘YOLO caucus’
By Steven Sloan, Joey Cappelletti and The Associated PressMay 20, 2026
8 hours ago
soros
Politicsphilanthropy
‘We will not be intimidated into silence’: George Soros foundation pledges $300 million toward democratic rights
By Thalia Beaty and The Associated PressMay 20, 2026
8 hours ago
massie
PoliticsElections
Trump gets revenge on Epstein rebel Thomas Massie in Kentucky GOP primary
By Jesse Bedayn, Dylan Lovan and The Associated PressMay 20, 2026
9 hours ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
3 days ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
8 days ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
9 hours ago
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
Travel & Leisure
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
By Rio Yamat and The Associated PressMay 18, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.