Polling editor says news outlets should be more cautious calling elections

News organizations should exhibit more caution when they call election results, Morning Consult editor Cameron Easley said in an interview that aired Tuesday on “What America’s Thinking.”

“The modern media environment…it just requires instant takes,” Easley told Hill.TV’s Joe Concha on “What America’s Thinking.”

“We should maybe just be, you know, a little bit more circumspect about what’s going to happen,” Easley said.

The 2018 midterm elections resulted in Democrats taking back the House, while Republicans increased their majority in the Senate.

Election night results showed that Democrats would be regaining control of the House, but results trickling in from California gave them more victories than initially thought.

“You saw so many of the late votes…just taking forever to count the votes turning into basically almost a sweep of the state, and it happened in other places too,” Easley said.

For example, The Associated Press declared Democratic candidate Josh Harder the winner over his opponent, Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), one week after Election Day.

— Julia Manchester


Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.