NJ’s Stockton University Is Out Of The Political Polling Business

We can confirm that Stockton University is officially out of the political candidate polling business.

Stockton tried hard, it just didn’t work out. They did it with the Zogby organization at one point and in recent years they took matters into their own hands, with limited success.

In fairness, political polling is broken all throughout America.

The problems are many. Even finding a representative sampling is challenging to achieve. It’s a byproduct of the fact that few landline telephones are left, along with cell phone call blocking technology and a general unwillingness for respondents to participate in surveys.

It’s all converged into a perfect storm that has worked against the polling industry.

Another phenomenon is former President Donald Trump. He has broken the polling industry; always performing better then the poll samples would project.

The consistently inaccurate results … easy, breezy fed the Trump “fake news” doctrine.

Most professionals have concluded that there is a certain part of the electorate that is unwilling to reveal to pollsters their intentions of voting for Trump.

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This has also had a hangover effect, affecting many other races down ballot.

It’s an appropriate decision by Dr. Harvey Kesselman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stockton University to eliminate this albatross.

Stockton University has earned a great national reputation in academics and athletics.

New Jersey Senator Vince Polistina, R-2 made the official on-air announcement with us this morning, with Kesselman’s blessing.

It was appropriate that Polistina would be the one to break the news, as Stockton University polling - which was outrageously released three days into early voting in the 2021 election - showed Polistina trailing then New Jersey Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo 47 to 41 percent.

Polistina went on to defeat Mazzeo by a comfortable margin of 52 to 48 percent. Polistina’s voter support was grossly underestimated in this survey, which was released while election ballots were being cast.

It was wrong and just plain unfair at so many levels. It’s Important to remember that an inaccurate poll can actually destroy a candidates chance of victory.

It paints the picture before the electorate that a candidate is losing. It can depress that candidates ability to raise much needed funding. It depresses that candidates vote turn out because voters falsely believe that their candidate can’t win, so why even bother taking the time to vote?

Senator Michael Testa, R-1 has had an even worse time with inaccurate Stockton University polling over the years.

Every critic of The Stockton University Polling Institute otherwise holds Stockton in high regard.

Getting out of the very messy business of political polling is a very wise move for Stockton University.