Well, we might know what pollster the GOP is using to get their numbers (OK, that’s a joke…sort of) with Mason-Dixon releasing a poll this morning showing McCain only down 4% in Pennsylvania, 47-43. Of course, the issue with this poll is that it’s completely unlike any other poll in the state.
This isn’t the first time Mason-Dixon has released such a poll:
- Michigan - In their Sept. 18 - 23 poll, Mason-Dixon showed Michigan tied, even though polls released at the same time showed the race +5, +7, +7, +8, +10, and +13 in the state
- New Mexico - In their August 13 - 15 poll, they showed McCain up 4% when other polls at the time showed Obama up 4%, 6%, and 13%
- Virginia - In their Oct. 20 - 21 poll, they showed only a 2% Obama lead when other polls at the time showed Obama leads of 10%, 6%, 10%, 9%, 9%, and 8%
To be sure, Mason-Dixon has also released quite a few polls which are right in line with the other polls in the state. However, Mason-Dixon has a bad habit of having a slight GOP bias and, as I’ve shown above, sometimes a pretty significant GOP bias that amounts to McCain performing anywhere from 5% to 8% better than he is in virutally any other poll released at the time.
Now, 538.com shows Mason-Dixon as slightly above-average compared to other pollsters in the primary, but of course, that’s the primary, where you don’t have to worry about things like…party weighing, for example.
