Opinion: Liz Peek Gives Five Reasons Republicans Could Beat the Polls on Election Day
The Fox News columnist argues Democrats are unpopular, GOP cash is flowing, Trump is campaigning, the left won ugly primaries, and polls have a record of missing Republican support. It is her case, not a forecast.
Fox News columnist Liz Peek writes that with Election Day a week away, the view that Democrats have the midterms won may be premature.
Her five reasons. First, Democrats are unpopular: she cites a CNN poll with Democratic favorability at 35%, under the 38% for President Trump in the latest RealClearPolling average. Second, Republicans have plenty of campaign cash flowing into close races, such as the Michigan Senate contest between Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers. Third, Trump is campaigning hard, which she says will drive turnout even though the Iran war has weighed on his approval. Fourth, the far left won primaries and left Democrats with controversial Senate candidates, such as James Talarico in Texas and Troy Jackson in Maine. Fifth, the polls could be wrong.
The polling argument. She quotes The Economist as saying that, applied to this year's numbers, the historical pattern of state polling errors "reverses Democratic leads in the pivotal states of Alaska and Texas," and moves Iowa and Kansas from tied to leaning Republican. She adds that CNN's Harry Enten called Democratic leads in many toss-up states "nominal," and that polling in states Trump won has undercounted Republicans by more than 4 points.
The fake polls. Peek points to Wedgewood Polls admitting it fabricated surveys, and says other firms were found to be dishonest. She also argues that many outlets are rooting for a Democratic win and that publishing polls that make the race look over could suppress GOP turnout and giving.
Her policy pitch. She urges voters to look past the polls to lower taxes, lighter regulation, strong law enforcement and tighter oversight of welfare spending. She criticizes Obama's remark that Michigan should be proud to have "a Muslim man, a Jewish woman" in the Senate race, and raises El-Sayed's Medicare for All stance.
Note for readers: this is a column. The poll figures and the quotes are Peek's and the sources she cites, and we have not rechecked them. Peek acknowledges the Iran war complicates the GOP message. We covered the Wedgewood admission earlier.