1. An Updated Dynamic Bayesian Forecasting Model for the US Presidential Election
- Author
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Heidemanns, Merlin, Gelman, Andrew, and Morris, G. Elliott
- Abstract
During modern general election cycles, information to forecast the electoral outcome is plentiful. So-called fundamentals like economic growth provide information early in the cycle. Trial-heat polls become informative closer to Election Day. Our model builds on (Linzer, 2013) and is implemented in Stan (Team, 2020). We improve on the estimation of state-level trends, the internal consistency of different predictions at the state and national level, and provide an adjustment for differential nonresponse bias across the cycle. The model forecast a Democratic win with probability in the 80-90% range during most of the 2020 U.S. presidential election campaign, conditional on the two major candidates staying in the race, no major third-party challenges, and no unprecedented challenges with turnout or vote counting.
- Published
- 2020
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