WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (June 1, 2018) – The Monmouth University Polling Institute again has been rated as one of the best in the nation by Nate Silver’s respected news site FiveThirtyEight.
The Monmouth University Poll was one of six – and the only university-based poll – to receive a grade of A-plus out of 396 pollsters reviewed by FiveThirtyEight, which updated the ratings for the first time since the 2016 presidential primaries. The Monmouth University Poll also received an A-plus in 2016. According to FiveThirtyEight, ratings are calculated by analyzing the historical accuracy and methodology of each firm’s polls.
In addition, the site examined which polls have been the most accurate in recent elections (from Nov. 8 onward), and the Monmouth University Poll was at the top.
“The best of these pollsters over this period has been Monmouth University,” Silver wrote. “That’s not a huge surprise – Monmouth was already one of our highest-rated pollsters.”
“Our entire team at Monmouth is honored by this distinction,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. “The polling industry has taken some lumps after the last presidential election and certainly we had our share of those misses. But the new ratings, which include two dozen new polls conducted by Monmouth over the past two years, shows that our overall track record remains strong. More importantly, the rating validates our primary mission of tapping the mood of the public on a wide range of issues in addition to elections.”
Added Monmouth President Grey J. Dimenna: “We’re very proud that the Monmouth University Polling Institute continues to be among the nation’s most accurate, trusted and reliable polling institutions in the nation. Our team excels in the study of public opinion on critical issues across the nation.”
In addition to its national public policy and quality of life polling, Monmouth will focus its 2018 efforts on the battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives, with plans to cover more than a dozen contested races.
“The political story this year is control of the House. Congressional district polling is notoriously difficult, but we have never been known to shy away from a challenge,” said Murray.
The Monmouth University Polling Institute was established to be a leading center for the study of public opinion on important state and national issues. Murray was named the founding director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute in 2005.