Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Bellwether Poll Gives Clinton Double-Digit Lead in Pennsylvania

Photo credits: Courtesy of HillaryClinton.com

Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor, reports in Political Intelligence (Boston Globe) this morning that Hillary Clinton could snag the double-digit win she wants in Pennsylvania today, according to an election-eve poll of Democrats in a bellwether county.

Commenting further, Rhee said,

“She led Barack Obama 52 percent to 40 percent in polling conducted Sunday and Monday in Allegheny County around Pittsburgh in a Suffolk University survey released today, a slightly larger margin than the statewide Suffolk poll done over the weekend.

“Suffolk pollsters say they used similar bellwether counties to correctly predict results in prior Democratic primaries in New Hampshire, California, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Ohio. They picked Allegheny County because its election results mirrored the statewide results in the 1988 and 2000 Democratic and Republican primaries.

Rhee cited a statement by David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center:

“A cautionary word or two: Past bellwether performance is a guide but not a 100 percent guarantee of future performance. New bellwethers often are created every election cycle as people migrate and as development and geography-driven issues emerge. In addition, local endorsements from popular people can skew margins.”

In comparison, Rhee said:

“Other recent polls have given Clinton a single-digit lead heading into today's make-or-break nomination contest, the first in six weeks.”

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