Polling

The practice of surveying a scientifically selected sample of the population to gauge public opinion on political candidates, policies, or issues, used to predict election outcomes or guide campaign strategy.

Example: A campaign might conduct internal polling to determine which economic message resonates most with undecided voters in a specific swing state.

Common misconception: Polls are exact predictions of the future. Polls are snapshots of public opinion at a specific moment with a calculated margin of error; they can be skewed by sampling bias, question wording, or late-breaking events.