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Category: Pew Research Center

From the polls to the president: which presidential polls were the most accurate

Even as votes started rolling in from the polls it was a tight presidential race to call. And with an election this close, major national polls varied by five percent or less.

Some were closer than others, though. Here’s a breakdown of which polls were dead on and which ones were duds.

Poll: Suburbanites split between Obama and Romney, president has edge among ‘empty nesters’

Suburbia hasn’t been spared the political split that has the nation in a gridlock with less than a week before the election. Romney leads among suburban independents. Obama leads among “empty nesters.”

Media bias? Study finds that Romney has received more favorable coverage than Obama since first debate

As Romney gained in the polls in the aftermath of the Denver debate, he got substantially more favorable media coverage. Obama’s coverage suddenly became more negative. Nearly three times as many Obama-related stories had a negative tone than a positive one.

Slideshow: How the American electorate has changed, 2008 to 2012

One big reason the 2012 presidential election is so close is that the electorate has changed a lot since Barack Obama won a comfortably victory over John McCain in 2008.
Among the major shifts: greater suspicion of government, stronger GOP support among white men and non-Hispanic Catholics and a heavy reliance on social media to receive campaign updates.