This Year's Model
From Beyond the Polls with Henry Olsen by Ricochet
May 28, 2026 · 1h 8m · Episode 127
About this episode
Henry Olsen discusses polling methods and public opinion dynamics with guest James Kanagasooriam.
America is a change agent. Just this week, we witnessed another sign of that as unstoppable MAGA momentum pushed notorious Ken Paxton to a walloping victory over party loyalist John Cornyn. So how does one gauge public opinion in such a dynamic terrain? To answer that, Henry sits down with James Kanagasooriam of the research firm Focaldata. The duo discusses the history of polling and the current methods for addressing new challenges, such as response rate collapse and demographic biases toward politically engaged voters, and how these fit into the timeless task of interpreting the results. All of it adds up to a must-listen lesson on how some pollsters innovate to make their boldly accurate calls. Plus, Henry examines the Texas runoff results and looks ahead to exciting primaries coming up in California, New Jersey, Iowa, Montana, and South Dakota.
People in this episode
Host: Henry Olsen
Guest: James Kanagasooriam
Topics covered
- polling
- public opinion
- politics
- elections
- demographics
- MAGA
Keywords
- polling
- public opinion
- MAGA
- Texas runoff
- demographic biases
- politically engaged voters
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Focaldata
Places: Texas, California, New Jersey, Iowa, Montana, South Dakota
More episodes of Beyond the Polls with Henry Olsen
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- Mapmaker, Matchmaker · June 4, 2026 · 52 min
- Waving Cane in the Lone Star State · May 21, 2026 · 54 min
- Peachy Primaries and Commonwealth Commotions · May 14, 2026 · 59 min
- Safe Senate Seat Scuffles · May 7, 2026 · 53 min
- Beggars Can't Be Hoosiers · April 30, 2026 · 50 min
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