Romney or Obama? Political Scientists Make Their Predictions
A round-up of The Post’s recent photographs of President Obama’s and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign events across the country — and in crucial swing states. (Credit: The Washington Post)
By Dan Balz
The Take
September 29, 2012
[…]
Out now are a baker’s dozen forecasts produced by political scientists that predict the outcome in November. …
The election forecasts are in fact predictions, based on various and varied statistical models. Most give the advantage to the president, but the verdict is not unanimous.
The 13 projections are contained in the new issue of PS: Political Science and Politics, which is published by the American Political Science Association. Eight of them project that Obama will win the popular vote; five say the popular vote will go to Romney. But the degree of certainty in those forecasts differs. One projection favoring the president says there is an 88 percent certainty that he’ll win, while two others forecasting Obama say there is only a 57 percent certainty.
James E. Campbell, the department chairman at the University at Buffalo in New York, who wrote the introduction to the package, rates them this way: Five predict that Obama will win a plurality of the two-party vote, although three are on “the cusp of a toss-up.” Five predict that Romney will win the plurality of the two-party vote. Three are in what he calls the toss-up range. …
Several of these scholars will talk more about forecasting elections on Oct. 16 [2012] at the National Press Club. …
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