Talking about the midterms on AFR, Honest Poll founder Mark Mitchell echoed other polls that predict the U.S. House of Representatives will flip to a Democratic majority.
Mitchell cited a generic congressional poll at RealClearPolitics that currently shows Democrats with an 8-point lead over Republicans.
Citing his own work, Mitchell warned the gap is far wider than that.
“I have it wider, low double digits, which would be a 15-point swing to the left,” Mitchell said.
That is basically a “mathematical certainty” Democrats will be the majority, he added.
Mitchell, a political conservative, was formerly head of polling at Rasmussen. He formed his own polling firm on the claim he can be more accurate and honest with his polling without the influence of the Republican Party.
On the AFR show, Mitchell told host Jenna Ellis he is seeing worrisome numbers in the current polling. Americans, he said, are frustrated about more than affordability: They are doubting the American dream itself.
“It goes beyond affordability. It's institutional trust,” the pollster shared. “It's a lack of faith in the future of the country, and a hatred and mistrust of a government that they think doesn't represent them."
In a less-grim polling analysis, veteran pollster George Barna reports down-ballot races are being largely ignored by voters when they mark their ballot.
Asked by iVoterGuide to survey voters, Barna found 85% fill out the top of the ticket, but only 55% said they complete the entire ballot.
Talking about his findings on "The Compass" program on AFR, Barna said independent voters — who make up a critical middle block — are particularly “persuadable” because they aren't tied to party lines.
"I think independents, probably more than people who are aligned with the Democratic or Republican parties, are persuadable,” he observed. “They're independent for a reason, and neither party seems to represent how they're thinking very consistently."
.Barna also pointed to Millennials as a movable group looking for guidance, though he expressed concern over where they search for answers since social media has become their primary source of news.
"One of the most important sources of information is social media, which is really disappointing to me,” Barna shared. “It's kind of heartbreaking."
Social media is a “jungle of lies” that young adults, and hence young voters, are using as a “bedrock source of information," Barna added.
