Noah Wyhof-Rudnick

Director, Innovation / Election Data Junkie

Noah is the Director of Innovation on the sampling team, which means that he spends a lot of time with the numbers and methodology behind the projects. He lives with his wife and two cats in the West Virginia panhandle, right in the perfect intersection of beautiful mountain hiking and wine country."

What was your first job?
I was a cashier at a K-Mart that began the process of going out of business about 6 months after I got there. Working in those conditions with an endless rush of shoppers looking for deals as the logistics slowly started to break down around us was great preparation for the election season.

If I were a superhero, my superpower would be…
Very cliché for someone who works in polling but it would be extremely useful to be able to read people’s thoughts, especially over the phone!

The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is…
Every move and decision players in the political industry make is strategic. But when a person gets into the voting booth, the decision for them is 100% emotional. Our job is bridging that gap.

What motivated you to select this career path?
There is no feeling quite like poring over endless numbers and discovering a new insight or trend that is translated into actionable items you can see in the real world, making a real difference.

Posts Featuring Noah

Are Democrats in Disarray? It Depends When You Poll. 

Recent 2024 presidential polls have shown a lot of different scenarios within the same margin of error with either a tied race or a slight Trump lead in the popular vote. At the same time, it seems like there has been a constant string of high-profile elections where Democrats do well or even outperform the polling like in the NY-03 special.   This article attempts to answer the question of why the polls show good numbers for Republicans that don’t always bear out in final results and why current polling might be off.

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Cygnal Momentum Tracking Poll: Michigan Statewide – 11/5/22  

For our last MI tracking poll, we show Governor Whitmer with a 4%-point lead on the gubernatorial ballot that shrinks to three and a half points when leaners are pushed. Democrats are leading in the other races as well, despite Republicans holding the edge on the generic congressional ballot.

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Cygnal Momentum Tracking Poll: Ohio Statewide – 11/4/22  

We believe that about a quarter of voters have already voted in Ohio as we enter the final weekend before Election Day. In this writeup, we’ll explore where we have the final ballots and then a few different turnout scenarios for the Senate. 

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Cygnal Momentum Tracking Poll: Michigan Statewide – 11/3/22  

The races have tightened with Republicans reclaiming the lead on the generic ballot, as Biden’s approval takes a small hit. Whitmer has also slipped just under 50% but after pushing undecided, comes back out to a 5-point lead. The top of the ticket for the governor’s race seems to be mirroring the images on these questions. 

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Cygnal Momentum Tracking Poll: Ohio Statewide – 11/2/22  

Biden’s unfavorable share remained above 61% for our second tracker in a row as inflation ticked up as a top issue to a new high of 37.2%. This number is even higher among those who have yet to vote, as shown below, so it’s even more potent as an issue

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Cygnal Momentum Tracking Poll: Michigan Statewide – 11/1/22  

The Democratic advantage on the generic ballot ticked back down to a one-point lead. Not much moved in the gubernatorial race with a six-and-a-half-point lead still for the incumbent Democrat, but the favorable gap between Whitmer and Dixon is now five points (that usually can be a leading indicator).

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Cygnal Momentum Tracking Poll: Ohio Statewide – 10/31/22  

In our poll, about 19% of respondents say they have already voted, which would put us in the turnout range of about 4.8 million, give or take a few hundred thousand on either side. This is a bit higher than 2018 though well below 2020 levels, which lines up if you look at early voting data (though older) that is a little ahead of 2018. We are seeing a shift in Republicans towards Election Day so there should be a larger number coming in then. We also only have 13% of voters who still have to vote early, and some might drop off so expect the bulk of the voting in Ohio to be on Election Day. 

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Cygnal Momentum Tracking Poll: Michigan Statewide – 10/30/22  

As the statewide average for gas in Michigan drops below $4, we also see the generic ballot flip towards the Democrats, and Governor Whitmer makes some gains on the ballot to +7. Interestingly enough, Whitmer and GOP candidate Tudor Dixon’s image stayed about even. One thing to keep an eye on in the closing week is that among voters who have not yet voted but say that they definitely will. Dixon holds a 50% / 45% (+5%) lead but falls behind by 10 points down 39% / 49% among those who say they probably will.

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Cygnal Momentum Tracking Poll: Ohio Statewide – 10/29/22  

Republicans moved up a point on the generic ballot while Democrats moved down, and it is back to R+11. There is a question on what moves when the generic ballot moves from poll to poll.

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Cygnal Momentum Tracking Poll: Michigan Statewide – 10/28/22  

The gubernatorial race has stayed at a consistent 6-point lead for Governor Whitmer. The Governor has added a little to her image while Dixon has fallen a bit over time, most likely due to the lopsided TV spending in the closing weeks. This is backed by Whitmer’s positive image movement with older voters that you would expect following advertising. 

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