A Michigan Democrat, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, is calling for polling and election reform after a fake polling firm revealed that it fabricated data throughout this election cycle.
McMorrow ran in the U.S. Senate primary in Michigan, eventually dropping out as she seemed to fade while Abdul El-Sayed, who is now the Democratic nominee, and Rep. Haley Stevens gained momentum. McMorrow blamed the fake poll for contributing to a “death spiral” for her campaign.
“If Democrats take a lesson away from this cycle, we have to fix this entire system,” McMorrow told The Washington Sun on Wednesday. “This is just one of many things that I think has made politics toxic for people, and we’ve got to restore trust. That’s what this is about. People don’t know what to trust.”
Less than two weeks out from Election Day, polling in many parts of the country appear to favor Democrats. But McMorrow is using the fake poll to warn Democrats against growing complacent.
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“I think the biggest thing that I want to remind people now is, we shouldn’t trust any polls,” McMorrow said. “There are two weeks left, so I don’t want anybody to take anything for granted, which is why I’ve been calling for people to sign up for a canvassing shift, do whatever you can, because I hope this teaches us a lesson.”
In Michigan, polling shows a competitive race between El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers. It’s one of the most closely watched Senate races, and it’s playing out in a battleground state.
Wedgewood Polls, the fake polling firm, said in a statement posted to X on Tuesday that most of its midterm election polling was fabricated. The statement said it was conducting an “experiment” to expose issues with the polling industry.
The announcement came hours before FiftyPlusOne, an election analysis hub, released an investigation into Wedgewood Polls, indicating its methodology and data had “red flags.”
Wedgewood released polls on competitive races like the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary and Senate races in Nebraska, Alaska and Mississippi. Its data was cited by several major outlets and aggregation hubs.
“Our races come down to a handful of votes, and I want everybody to lay it all on the line,” McMorrow said. “My advice to everybody is stop looking at polling and go knock on some doors.”
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