... except that's not exactly what the poll says. Minneapolis's KSTP channel 5's headline reads "POLL: Coleman should concede." The article that follows reads,
An exclusive Survey USA poll shows nearly half of Minnesotans surveyed say its time for Republican Norm Coleman to concede the U.S. Senate race to Democrat Al Franken.
But the survey does not hold good news for Franken either.
On election night, each candidate received only 42 percent of the votes. Now it appears they're both even less popular.
Only 38 percent of Minnesotans surveyed said they view Coleman favorably. 44 percent have an unfavorable view.
Franken scored similarly with 37 percent favorable and 45 percent unfavorable.
Now what would you think "nearly half" means? 49%? 48%? What would you think of 44%? Because, as the Minnesota Independent reports, that's the percentage that actually believes Norm Coleman should concede:
Now these are some poll results Norm Coleman should challenge. KSTP-TV played a new SurveyUSA poll it commissioned as showing that almost half of Minnesotans want the former senator to concede the state’s ongoing Senate contest to challenger Al Franken. But that’s not quite what the survey results really say. It’s true that 49 percent of respondents said they disagree with Coleman’s decision to challenge the recount results. But when asked directly what they thought should happen next, only 44 percent said Coleman should concede.
If you're wondering what the difference between "conceding" and "not challenging the recount results" might be, check out KSTP's video below (beginning at approx. 2:20) of the poll report. 44% say Coleman should concede, 31% say there should be another election, 17% are designated as "not sure" or "other," and 8% say there should be another recount. Those last three added together equal 56%.
In addition, The Minnesota Independent notes that these results actually are more favorable to Coleman compared to those from one month ago -- where "55 percent ... told the same pollsters a month ago that the loser should not file a legal challenge in court if he thought the process was unfair." Further, KSTP's own report notes that Franken's favorable/unfavorable ratings are actually one percent worse than those of Coleman.
So how is it again that KSTP, in their online headline and video report, hype that Coleman should concede?
Photo credit: The Minnesota Independent.
Thanks to NB reader Dan P. for the tip.
