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An Upset No One Sees Coming

October 19, 2018 · 2:46 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Nate Silver: “Polls and forecasts are pretty good instruments, but they’re not all that precise. Nor do they necessarily go wrong in the places you expect them to go wrong. Therefore, campaigns should generally be active in a reasonably broad set of plausibly competitive states and districts. They shouldn’t get too cute by either triaging a race too soon or taking one for granted.”

“So as you see reports about Republicans or Democrats giving up on campaigning in certain races for the House, you should ask yourself whether they’re about to replicate Clinton’s mistake. The chance the decisive race in the House will come somewhere you’re not expecting is higher than you might think.”

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Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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