Skip to content
GIVING DAY is April 11! But you can support CSSH students and programs now with a $5+ gift to any of our funds.
Apply
Stories

For campaigns, election forecasting can provide guidance on how to spend money

People in this story

Marketplace, September 2020

Wednesday morning, The Economist rolled out two new election forecasting models to try to predict who, and which parties, are likely to win in this year’s House and Senate races. The models use machine-learning algorithms to parse a variety of data.

The Economist’s model takes in election data going back to 1942 and considers factors such as a district’s voting history, polls and fundraising. Data editor Dan Rosenheck with The Economist said the model also responds to new data as it comes in. “It will continue to change, every day, up until the election, depending on what the polls say, how the fundraising data comes in,” Rosenheck said.

Those kinds of predictions can be valuable for candidates and their parties as they decide how to spend their money, said political science professor Costas Panagopoulos at Northeastern University.

Continue reading at Marketplace.

More Stories

image of donald trump clasping hands together wearing

US officials take initial steps to seize Donald Trump properties

03.22.2024
Image of President Joe Biden speaking at Stupak Community Center in Las Vegas on March 19. Biden leads former President Donald Trump in the polls, according to The Economist's average of polls.

Joe Biden Now Leads Donald Trump in Presidential Polling Average

03.21.2024
Image of former president donald trump looking off into distance

Deadline arrives for Trump to secure $454m bond or risk seizure of assets

03.25.24
All Stories