Is liberal Democrat James Talarico, left, really ahead of Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas race for U.S. Senate? Even representatives of liberal news outlets have expressed doubts about some recent political polls. (Cécile Clocheret – AFP / Getty Images; Joel Angel Juarez / Getty Images)
By Samuel Proctor October 23, 2026 at 1:23pm
MS NOW anchor Katy Tur admitted Thursday that she is “more skeptical” of Texas midterm polling that puts Rep. James Talarico ahead of Attorney General Ken Paxton.
MS NOW’s Katy Tur Says She’s “More Skeptical” of Texas Midterm Polling After Her Trip to Texas https://t.co/wLaIhfUteK
— OSZ (@OpenSourceZone) October 22, 2026
According to a Mediaite report, Puck News co-founder Peter Hamby appeared on the Oct. 22 episode of “The Moment with Katy Tur” to discuss the Democrat-favorable survey results.
“Is this just a product of pollsters really not wanting to be wrong and trying to invent ways to say, ‘We could be wrong, maybe it’s this’?” Tur asked.
Hamby replied, “Yeah, I mean, that would be what pollsters and data folks call herding.” He explained it could be “pollsters, not great ones probably, directing their polls to align with the news cycle and sentiment.”
How do you feel about the integrity of political polls after recent scandals?
He then pointed to an October Echelon poll that asked 1,010 likely voters whether they think their neighbors will vote Democrat or Republican in the midterms.
“When you ask the question, ‘Who do you think your neighbor or your social circle is going to vote for?’ The results are actually closer to the final outcome of the election,” Hamby said.
The Echelon numbers had a “three-point lead for Republicans when [they] factored in the neighbor question,” Hamby reported, immediately qualifying that “this is not bulletproof.”
“I don’t think anyone really thinks that Republicans have a three-point lead on the generic ballot, but it does suggest that these races could be closer than some of the polls are showing,” Hamby said, citing a Fox News poll of 969 likely voters that placed Talarico four points ahead of Paxton.
Tur jumped in, doubtful of the Fox News numbers.
“I was in Texas, and I’m a little more skeptical of the polling in Texas, having been there, because I did just get a lot of ‘I’m going to vote for the team,’” Tur said.
“[T]he polling, or the Republican impulse, is so deeply ingrained in Texas,” she explained: “it feels like it’s hard to break.”
A Texas Democrat hasn’t won a statewide election since 1994, yet Hamby countered, saying the race could be close. “These are jump-ball races,” he said, urging Democrats:
“Don’t trust the polls … you just have to run through the tape.”
This comes immediately after this week’s Wedgewood Polling scandal, when a highly cited polling company was revealed on Wednesday to have fabricated survey results.
The alleged purpose of the dishonesty was “to demonstrate the vulnerabilities, lack of oversight, and overall low barrier to entry in the modern political polling industry.”
Nate Silver, one of the country’s most popular polling personalities, noted in a social media post that the Wedgewood numbers showed a small but consistent bias toward Democrats.
We removed Wedgewood “polls” from our database, will write more about that tonight/tomorrow. These polls tended to be ~1 point more favorable for Ds than the consensus. Biggest change in MI (El-Sayed goes from +3.6 to +3.0) but that also reflects the Marist AES +2 being added.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) October 21, 2026
In August, another phony polling firm that called itself Median Strategies also admitted to the Los Angeles Times that it had fabricated its numbers.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Voters can find information about local election offices and resources through the National Association of Secretaries of State Voter Portal.
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Samuel Proctor is a first year student at Iowa State University, studying political science and writing for the Iowa State Daily. His specialization in political theory and philosophy led him to join The Western Journal in 2026. When not writing, Samuel can be found playing guitar and praising Jesus.
