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US midterms: 2 days to go, and the polls disagree in Michigan

A CBS Detroit poll puts El-Sayed ahead of Republican Mike Rogers by seven among likely voters, while RealClearPolling shows two; same race, same week.

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  1. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorTwo polls of the Michigan Senate race, and one has Abdul El-Sayed up seven while the other has him up two.

  2. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorWith us is Leopold Varga-Nwosu, polling historian and author of The Margin of Me. Which poll is right?

  3. Leopold Varga-NwosuBoth are right, Vera. I'm a historian, so I only need one of them to have already happened.

  4. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThe Mitchell poll for CBS Detroit says fifty-one to forty-four among likely voters. RealClearPolling says forty-eight to forty-six. That's a gap of five points on the lead.

  5. Leopold Varga-NwosuYes, and I predicted that gap. As I wrote on page one-ten, a lead can be both comfortable and narrow.

  6. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo you called a big lead and a small lead.

  7. Leopold Varga-NwosuI called every lead, Vera. Nationally Democrats are up fifty-one point four to forty-three point two, and that's page two-twelve.

  8. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThen what's the page for Republicans winning?

  9. Leopold Varga-NwosuPage two-ninety. It's right after the chapter where they don't.

  10. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorIn Wisconsin, Marquette found thirty-seven percent approve of Trump and sixty-one disapprove. Which page is that?

  11. Leopold Varga-NwosuThree-oh-one. Though I should say the book is only two hundred ninety-six pages.

  12. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo page three-oh-one doesn't exist. I'd call that a bonus chapter for the paperback.

  13. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorVerdict on Michigan: a seven-point lead, a two-point lead, and one author covering both. Which page is it if the book doesn't sell?

  14. Leopold Varga-NwosuThe last page. It's blank, and I'm told that's a very strong sales position.

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From the archive: everything BBN aired on Sunday, November 1, 2026 · the U.S. archive · all months