‘Shy Trump Voters’ Re-Emerge as Explanation for Pollsters’ Miss
- Some Trump supporters refused to participate in polls at all
- Trump’s 73 million votes surprised many who had followed polls
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Donald Trump’s unexpectedly strong election showing against Joe Biden is reviving the notion of the so-called shy Trump voter among pollsters, who had consistently yet inaccurately predicted a far weaker performance by the president before the Nov. 3 contest.
The outcome of the race marked the second time in four years that pollsters understated Trump’s support in the months leading up to the election. Now, polling firms are faced with another possible culprit: a legion of voters who either refused to say they were voting for Trump or declined to participate in polls at all.