News and views for the UB community
Published September 25, 2020
While many national presidential election forecasts have Joe Biden leading Donald Trump in popular votes by a respectable margin, James Campbell reports that the presidential forecast model he uses shows a much tighter race.
It’s a contest that is too close to call, says Campbell, UB Distinguished Professor of Political Science, who adds there are indications that the election winner might not be announced on the first Tuesday in November.
Campbell announced his findings Sept. 18 on the political news website Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
“Entering the homestretch of this surreal presidential election between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, many of us are holding our breath and looking with anxiety and trepidation toward Election Day,” wrote Campbell. “This forecast analysis will not alleviate that angst, but might prepare us a bit for what we may be heading toward.”
Campbell utilizes two forecasting models in predicting the outcome of the presidential election. The Trial-Heat model is described as a simple, intuitively sensible, historically grounded, and transparent forecasting equation with a long history of accurate forecasts of the national two-party system. The Convention Bump model uses information taken from polls at various times during the campaign. Both models have an impressive record, accurately predicting the 2012 and 2016 elections by one point.
Here are some of the major takeaways from Campbell’s findings:
One thing is guaranteed from Campbell’s findings: The next 60 days and beyond are going to be a wild ride. The only thing known is the unknown.