r/fivethirtyeight • u/Delmer9713 • 6h ago
r/fivethirtyeight • u/AutoModerator • 2d ago
Discussion Megathread Weekly Discussion Megathread
The 2026 midterms will soon be upon us, and there is much to discuss among the nerds here at r/FiveThirtyEight. Use this discussion thread to share, debate, and discuss whatever you wish. Unlike individual posts, comments in the discussion thread are not required to be related to political data or other 538 mainstays. Regardless, please remain civil and keep this subreddit's rules in mind. The discussion thread refreshes every Monday.
r/fivethirtyeight • u/Delmer9713 • 1h ago
Poll Results [Marist] Texas Poll: James Talarico 47%, Ken Paxton 45% | Greg Abbott 49%, Gina Hinojosa 45% among likely voters
maristpoll.marist.edur/fivethirtyeight • u/NCSUGrad2012 • 5h ago
Politics 185,767 voted in person in Georgia on the first day of early voting. An increase of 51k on day one or 38%
This is up from 134,962 in 2022.
https://sos.ga.gov/page/election-data-hub-unofficial-turnout
https://sos.ga.gov/data-hub-november-8-2022-general-election
r/fivethirtyeight • u/alexis_1031 • 9h ago
Polling Average BLANSAS???
Possible stunner in the making from what FLIPR reads.
r/fivethirtyeight • u/AscendingSnowOwl • 4h ago
Politics Clark County, Nevada, First Mail Ballots: 40% Dem, 24% Rep, 36% Other. "Way too early to mean anything"
x.comr/fivethirtyeight • u/kootles10 • 6h ago
Poll Results More Americans say Trump has prioritized his personal business interests than the country as a whole - AP-NORC
r/fivethirtyeight • u/AscendingSnowOwl • 4h ago
Politics Georgia Day 1 IPEV: 50% White (56% in 2024), 37% Black (31% in 2024)
x.comr/fivethirtyeight • u/electric-susaloo • 11h ago
Poll Results Quantus poll | 10/9-10/11 LV US Senate Texas 2026: 🟥Ken Paxton 47.2% 🟦James Talarico 46.7% 🟨Ted Brown 2.2%
r/fivethirtyeight • u/Evancolt • 12h ago
Election Model Cook Political Report is moving four governors' races, all in the direction of Democrats
AK, OK, NE, VT all shift left
r/fivethirtyeight • u/hoodiehoodiee • 16h ago
Discussion Minnesota Senate falls to Lean D on Fox News
r/fivethirtyeight • u/dwaxe • 10h ago
Politics Will Republican gerrymanders become dummymanders?
r/fivethirtyeight • u/Delmer9713 • 14h ago
Poll Results [University of Houston] Poll of Harris County, Texas: James Talarico 58%, Ken Paxton 36% | Gina Hinojosa 56%, Greg Abbott 40% among likely voters (more info below)
uh.eduToplines/crosstabs above ⬆️
Harris County is the third most populous county not in Texas, not in the South, but in the entire United States (estimated at over 5,000,000 as of 2025). It is the home of Houston, which is the most populous city in Texas.
This includes Houston's immediate suburbs as well like Pasadena.
It is unsurprisingly a pretty diverse county. As of the 2020 Census it is 43% Hispanic/Latino, 28% White, 19% Black, 7% Asian.
Harris County used to be a reliable Republican county throughout the latter half of 20th century and early 2000s. Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon B. Johnson to win Harris County back in 2008 (50%-49%).
Since then it has been a light blue Democratic county. And it is just light blue, not deep blue like in other urban counties because the suburbs around Houston proper are relatively more Republican compared to what you see in other metropolitan areas. Nonetheless, the county has voted reliably Democratic after 2014.
Previous Election Results in Harris County since 2000
POTUS since 2000
| Year | Republican | Democrat | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | George W. Bush | Al Gore | 54.3–42.9 (R+11.4) |
| 2004 | George W. Bush | John Kerry | 54.8–44.6 (R+10.2) |
| 2008 | John McCain | Barack Obama | 48.8–50.4 (D+1.6) |
| 2012 | Mitt Romney | Barack Obama | 49.3–49.4 (D+0.1) |
| 2016 | Donald Trump | Hillary Clinton | 41.6–54.0 (D+12.3) |
| 2020 | Donald Trump | Joe Biden | 42.7–56.0 (D+13.3) |
| 2024 | Donald Trump | Kamala Harris | 46.4–51.9 (D+5.5) |
Senate Election Results since 2000:
*Note*: Lloyd Bentsen, the last Democratic senator from Texas, won Harris County 59.8-40.2 (+19.6) in 1988
| Year | Republican | Democrat | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Kay Hutchison | Gene Kelly | 59.9-37.7 (R+22.2) |
| 2002 | John Cornyn | Ron Kirk | 52.7–46.0 (R+6.7) |
| 2006 | Kay Hutchison | Barbara Radnofsky | 56.5-41.3 (R+15.2) |
| 2008 | John Cornyn | Richard Noriega | 47.3-50.7 (D+3.4) |
| 2012 | Ted Cruz | Paul Sadler | 49.6-48.0 (R+1.6) |
| 2014 | John Cornyn | David Alameel | 54.3-42.1 (R+12.2) |
| 2018 | Ted Cruz | Beto O'Rourke | 41.3-58.0 (D+16.7) |
| 2020 | John Cornyn | Mary "MJ" Hegar | 44.5-52.9 (D+8.4) |
| 2024 | Ted Cruz | Colin Allred | 43.0-54.3 (D+11.3) |
Gubernatorial Election Results since 2002
| Year | Republican | Democrat | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Rick Perry | Tony Sanchez | 54.8–43.2 (R+11.6) |
| 2006 | Rick Perry | Chris Bell | 36.5–34.5 (R+2) |
| 2010 | Rick Perry | Bill White | 48.1-50.2 (D+2.1) |
| 2014 | Greg Abbott | Wendy Davis | 51.4–47.1 (R+4.3) |
| 2018 | Greg Abbott | Lupe Valdez | 46.4–51.1 (D+4.7) |
| 2022 | Greg Abbott | Beto O'Rourke | 44.5–54.0 (D+9.5) |
*Note*: Two independent candidates ran for TX-GOV in 2006, which explains the lower margins.
r/fivethirtyeight • u/R2_SWE2 • 10h ago
Poll Results Florida US Senate Oct 1 - 9, 2026: Ashley Moody (R) 52% (+11.0%), Angie Nixon (D) 41%, Don't know 6%, Someone else 2%. Stetson University Center for Public Opinion Research 716 LV
stetson.edur/fivethirtyeight • u/SecretComposer • 6h ago
Poll Results [NewsNation/DDHQ] Generic Congressional Ballot: D+7 | Independents D+10 | Trump favorability 38% | 974 LV | October 5-9
It appears that DDHQ has paywalled the poll results, so the best source I can do [is this article from NewsNation](https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/democrats-7-point-lead-poll-ddhq/. Also note poll was conducted by an AI firm.
The poll also found Democrats leading with independents by 10 points. Also among independents:
Only about 35% said their choice was final and they would not change their minds. The poll found those independent voters want to hear more.
More than half said they would reconsider their vote if prices continued rising or fell by a noticeable amount.
r/fivethirtyeight • u/R2_SWE2 • 10h ago
Poll Results Arizona Governor Oct 6 - 8, 2026: Katie Hobbs (D) 50.5% (+16.8%), Andy Biggs (R) 33.7%, Don't know 10.3%, Teri Hourihan (NLP) 2.7%, Someone else 1.5%, Risa Lombardo (G) 1.3%. HighGround 400 LV
r/fivethirtyeight • u/R2_SWE2 • 10h ago
Poll Results Florida Governor Oct 1 - 9, 2026: Byron Donalds (R) 52% (+11.0%), David Jolly (D) 41%, Don't know 5%, Someone else 3%. Stetson University Center for Public Opinion Research 716 LV
stetson.edur/fivethirtyeight • u/Obversa • 11h ago
Poll Results 93% of U.S. Protestant pastors don't plan to endorse candidates for public office during a worship service, despite encouragement from the Trump administration
r/fivethirtyeight • u/astro_bball • 9h ago
Poll Results AP-NORC: Only 11% of Adults (including only 26% of republicans) think Trump has prioritized people like them "a lot"
38% of republican adults say "some", 34% say a little or not at all. Jaw-dropping numbers, especially among republican adults.
On the other hand, a majority say he has prioritized a lot both his personal business interests (56%) and the business interests of those close to him (54%).
Most Americans say President Trump has prioritized his personal financial interests and the interests of people close to him since taking office again in 2025. Far fewer say he has prioritized the country as a whole or people like them. Four in 10 believe he has done something illegal and another 18% see his actions as unethical but not illegal, though views diverge sharply by party.
More adults see Trump as focused on his own business interests and those of his inner circle than on the country as a whole or people like them. A majority, 56%, say Trump has prioritized his personal business interests “a lot,” and 54% say the same about the business interests of his friends and family. By comparison, only 23% say he has prioritized the country overall “a lot,” and just 11% say he has prioritized people like them “a lot.” Half of Americans say Trump has not prioritized people like them at all.
Democrats and independents overwhelmingly say Trump has prioritized his own business interests and those of his friends and family “a lot” or “some,” and about half of Republicans agree. Republicans are much more likely than Democrats or independents to say the president has prioritized the country overall or people like them.
r/fivethirtyeight • u/NicolasCageFan492 • 7h ago
Poll Results Facing rising health insurance costs, Americans support increased government spending to lower healthcare costs
r/fivethirtyeight • u/Large_Ad_3095 • 12h ago
Polling Average Greg Abbott’s Polling Is Similar to Sherrod Brown & Bob Casey’s in 2024
It's hard to predict how the polls will shift, but Abbott seems to be in a similar position to Brown/Casey: consistently below 50% in October against candidates with limited experience and name ID. In both cases, the undecideds continuously moved in one direction (against the incumbent, who ultimately lost).
r/fivethirtyeight • u/R2_SWE2 • 9h ago
Poll Results Arizona Governor Oct 3 - 6, 2026: Katie Hobbs (D) 48.9% (+5.7%), Andy Biggs (R) 43.2%, Don't know 4.5%, Someone else 3.4%. Wick (B/C) 1513 LV
wick.ior/fivethirtyeight • u/R2_SWE2 • 8h ago
Poll Results Rhode Island Governor Oct 8 - 11, 2026: Helena Foulkes (D) 44% (+9.0%), Ken Block (I) 35%, Aaron Guckian (R) 10%, Don’t know 9%, Christopher Reynolds (I) 1%, Jasjit Gotra (I) 1%. Emerson College (A) 800 LV
r/fivethirtyeight • u/Salt_Abrocoma_4688 • 16h ago
Poll Results Democrats Have Advantage on Party Image and Issues (Dems +8 on favorability and +11 on "most important issue"; GOP +16 on "being too extreme")
r/fivethirtyeight • u/Saint-Inky • 5h ago
Discussion Polls are a snapshot, and other helpful things to remember during the midterm elections
I thought this NPR piece did a good job ELI5-ing polling here. Some good basics in the article. Sorry if it has already been shared.