Welcome to the Franklin & Marshall College Poll Newsletter! Here, you can take a deep dive into Pennsylvania politics, elections, public policy, and topics of social interest.
The poll is conducted by F&M's Center for Opinion Research, where we're known for perceptive survey design and insightful analysis. On this site, we'll share what we've learned in over 30 years of conducting public opinion surveys. We'll also release all new F&M polls here.
Our goal is to encourage deeper thinking about what polls mean—to look not only at the results, but at the quality of a specific poll and what the polls collectively reveal about any given election or issue.
Subscribers get our newsletters via email, and also receive all new F&M Poll releases as soon as they are available. We hope you find our work helpful and informative!
2024 Pennsylvania Polling: Focusing on Performance in the Horse Race isn’t Good Enough
We explore how oversimplified postmortem polling assessments can be more harmful than helpful.
Thinking About Likely Voters...
There have been many comments and questions about the likely voter data reported in the October F&M Poll, and how we define likely voters. In this post, we address the two most common questions.
Franklin & Marshall Poll Release: October 2024
Both the presidential and senate races in Pennsylvania are neck-and-neck among likely voters in this month's poll, which also explores voters' positions on a number of campaign issues, including immigration, the economy, fracking, and abortion rights.
Polling the Presidential Race: Does Methodology Matter?
We explore how various methodologies may affect poll results, looking particularly at how different approaches to sampling and data collection seem to produce slightly different descriptions of the 2024 presidential race.
Shapiro as Vice President?
Can the Pennsylvania governor help Kamala Harris win the presidency? We discuss why he's so popular and how his candidacy might resonate with U.S. voters.
Democrats’ Dilemma
Should Biden stay in the presidential race, or should he step aside? We review current and historic approval ratings and other data to provide context for this important discussion.
Franklin & Marshall Poll Release: February 2024
Our new poll shows that the 2024 race between Biden and Trump is still close. Other results include the mood of Pennsylvania voters and their positions on marijuana legalization, gambling, and taxes on electric vehicles.
The 2023 Municipal Election: Abortion Rights Likely Gave Democrats an Advantage
Turnout in Pennsylvania on November 7 was higher than expected, and Democrats won a race they had lost in 2021. We dig into the data to understand why.
Franklin & Marshall College Poll Newsletter
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