Real Clear Politics founder to cover polling accountability at CapCon 2023

RCP recently launched a project aimed at preserving public trust in good polling. The genesis behind the project is to bring some accountability to polling as a way to improve the product by shining a light on the firms and pollsters that are doing a really good job.

Bevan oversees the editorial staff at RCP and writes regular features for the online political news website. His work has appeared in numerous publications, and he is featured frequently as a political analyst on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and the BBC.

Bevan hosts a weekly radio show on politics in Chicago. He is co-author with Carl Cannon of two eBooks on the 2012 Election: “The Battle Begins” and “A Time for Choosing.”

Bevan’s publication is known for creating polling averages as a way to measure public opinion outcomes from multiple polling sources. The average is often used as a way of handicapping where races for the House, Senate and presidency stand. Recently, RCP forecast that the Senate may be slipping away from the Democrats as races in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada move to the GOP.

“Tom Bevan will help our audience of editors and journalists come to grips with dueling polls, where results can range from incongruous to outrageous,” said Charles Ford Champion II, CNPA’s president and CEO. The association is hosting experts from across the U.S. and across the political spectrum to examine disinformation and its effect on the public’s trust in news media.

“Polls can be misleading,” Bevan says. “In 2020, just a week before election day, an ABC News poll in Wisconsin had Biden ahead by a preposterous 17 points in the state. When the votes were counted, Biden won by 1 percent. These are the kinds of outcomes that lead to skepticism and distrust of pollsters and sometimes the media that convey results.”

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