Midterm Poll-iferation

Rack ‘em up! The Marist Poll and battleground state polling partner NBC News have completed a dozen state polls since the beginning of the summer. On tap this week – Missouri, Indiana, and Tennessee.On this week’s episode of Poll Hub, the team takes a close look at the dynamics driving the contests. High on the list is Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill’s re-election bid. According to the NBC News/Marist Poll, only four points separate McCaskill from her Republican challenger Josh Hawley. And it could come down to how well the candidates are defined in the state.In Indiana, independent voters are profoundly impacting the electoral landscape. How is this playing out in the U.S. Senate race between Democratic incumbent Joe Donnelly and Republican Mike Braun? We have the answer.Plus, Republican Marsha Blackburn and Democrat Phil Bredesen are in a dead heat in the Tennessee Senate race. What is going on in this traditionally red state?About Poll HubPoll Hub goes behind the science to explain how polling works, what polls really show, and what the numbers really mean. Poll Hub is produced by The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, home of America’s leading independent college public opinion poll, The Marist Poll. Lee Miringoff (Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion), Barbara Carvalho (Director of The Marist Poll), and Jay DeDapper (Director of Innovation at The Marist Poll) dig deep to give you a look at the inner workings of polls and what they tell us about our world, our country, and ourselves.