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Evaluating the Trial-Heat and Economy Forecast of the 2004 Presidential Vote: All's Well that Ends Well

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2005

James E. Campbell
Affiliation:
University at Buffalo, SUNY

Extract

On Labor Day, 57 days before the election, using the Gallup poll's division of likely voters and GDP growth during the second quarter of the year, the trial-heat and economy forecasting model predicted that George W. Bush would receive 53.8% of the two-party popular vote (Campbell 2004a). Out of concerns about relying too heavily on a single poll and the possible complications associated with the Republican Convention running right up to the Labor Day weekend, a companion model based on the pre-convention Gallup poll, the net convention poll bump, and the economy was constructed. It forecast a slightly closer election, with a Bush vote of 52.8%.

Type
Symposium
Copyright
© 2005 by the American Political Science Association

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References

Campbell James E. 2004aForecasting the Presidential Vote in 2004: Placing Preference Polls in Context.” PS: Political Science and Politics 37 (October): 7637.Google Scholar
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