Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, you, me — and anyone else in the world who reads polls — all were surprised by last week’s election.
That includes James Delorey. The Westport resident is senior vice president of research at the Global Strategy Group. They use tons of sophisticated tools to advise Fortune 500 companies, non-profits — and political campaigns. In other words: He analyzes data and trends for a living.
James Delorey
Like everyone else in the business, he’s moved past shock. Now he’s trying to figure out how so much polling could have been so wrong for so long.
Tomorrow night (Thursday, November 17, 7:30 p.m., 323 Restaurant) he shares his insights in a local forum.
“Why Data Failed Us: A Closer Look at Polling” is sponsored by the Democratic Women of Westport. Clearly, that’s a group groping for answers.
Delorey will answer questions like:
- Why did so much 2016 polling data miss the mark?
- Is it possible to accurately poll the electorate in the current era?
- Did media coverage of the polls impact the election outcome?
- What was the impact of late-breaking news?
- What issues drove the election outcome?
- Could Clinton have done anything differently to ensure victory?
Delorey — who worked at the state level during this election cycle, and helped elect a Democratic governor in West Virginia, while the state went 69% for Trump — was not one of those presidential pollsters who so misread the presidential tea leaves.
But he knows he, his colleagues — and his industry — are in hot water right now.