The Polling Alley
The Polling Alley, presented by Overton Insights, analyzes the latest national polling data to explain where voters stand on key political and policy issues. Hosts Mark Cunningham, Poll Director, and Olivia Michiels, Poll Analyst, break down trends and public opinion shifts that are shaping the current political landscape. Listeners can gain insight into the numbers behind the headlines and what they reveal about the electorate's views. The podcast aims to make complex polling results accessible and relevant to those following political developments.
Episodes
Will The Blue Wave Reach Florida?
The Overton Insights team is joined by Florida Politics reporter AG Gancarski to discuss the midterms in Florida and new national polling trends. Both Mark and AG expect Republicans to hold Florida this November, but they split on the margins. In this episode, we cover: Is Byron Donalds' lead as safe as it looks? - Mason-Dixon has Donalds up 7 over David Jolly and YouGov has him up 2. AG and Mark
How is The Midterm Map Shifting?
Less than five weeks until the election, Mark Cunningham calls these key governor races. Plus: new drama unfolds in Texas, and a new polls in Georgia and Ohio shed light on shifting dynamics. In this episode, we cover: Can Republicans hold governor's mansions in a blue wave year? - Mark's first gubernatorial predictions: Rick Jackson by 1.8 over Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Vivek Ramaswamy by
Can Republicans stop the blue wave?
Six weeks out from the elections, we lay out our first Senate forecasts and review the week's biggest poll drops. In this episode, we cover: Who wins the Senate six weeks out? Mark makes his calls in Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Maine, Iowa, and New Hampshire. Is Michigan slipping away from Mike Rogers? NYT/Siena has Abdul El-Sayed up 49% to 44%, and Suffolk has El-Sayed +7 points, his biggest lead sin
Episode 17
The generic ballot is moving fast toward Democrats, and Mark's not sure whether to call it a wave or a tsunami. But here are three races Republicans surprisingly have a chance at winning! In this episode, we cover: Blue wave or blue tsunami? – National generic ballot polling has swung hard toward Democrats, with likely-voter samples running as high as D+11 to D+13 (Marquette). We break down why t
Episode 16
Our Texas poll is now included in Nate Silver's forecasts! Plus Olivia and Mark dig into three races most people may not be watching yet, plus the math both parties need in order to control the Senate after the midterms. In this episode, we cover: - Overton's Texas poll tops Nate Silver's forecast – Our recent Texas survey, built on a likely voter screen of over 1,100 respondents, is now weighted
Episode 15
Is Texas a red state, a purple state, or something in between? Our new Overton Insights / Texas Public Policy Foundation poll finds the Paxton–Talarico Senate race locked in a dead heat when leaners are forced to choose a candidate, and our hypothetical matchips may upend everything you've heard about who the "electable" candidate really is. In this episode, we cover: It's football season! We ask
Episode 14
Seventy-one percent of Americans don't want data centers built near them, and it's becoming one of the most critical issues on the 2026 ballot. This week we dig into why the industry lost the messaging war before it started, where Trump's approval is dragging Senate candidates, and a seasonality quirk that may make summer polls lean more Democratic. In this episode, we cover: Why are data centers
Episode 13
What an upset in the Florida Democratic Senate Primary! Plus, our take on Median Strategies "social experiment" and how it hurts the credibility of legitimate pollsters. In this episode, we cover: How did a $16 million establishment favorite lose to a candidate with under $1 million? – We break down Angie Nixon's grassroots upset over Alex Vindman in the Florida Senate primary, why Mark thinks De
Episode 12
Wisconsin just delivered another big polling miss. Mark and Olivia sit down and discuss how David Crowley pulled off an upset in the Democratic primary for Governor, what the miss says about polling in contested primaries, and why a new Siena poll shows Kathy Hochul's lead in New York starting to narrow. In this episode, we cover: - How did every Wisconsin poll get it so wrong? – Francesca Hong le
Episode 11
The polls had Abdul El-Sayed cruising by 15-plus points in the Michigan Democratic Senate Primary. He won by one. This week we dig into one of the worst polling misses in recent history and what to take from it. In this episode, we cover: How did Michigan's Senate primary polls fool almost everyone? – El-Sayed edged Haley Stevens by a single point while polls and prediction markets had him winnin
Episode 10
Will El-Sayed beat Stevens in the Michigan Democratic Senate primary? New Emerson polling has Abdul El-Sayed up 15 over Haley Stevens, and Gretchen Whitmer's endorsement may have made things worse... In this episode, we cover: Did Whitmer's endorsement backfire on Haley Stevens? – Fresh Emerson polling shows Abdul El-Sayed leading the Michigan Senate primary by 15 points, with a separate poll pu
Episode 9
Welcome back to The Polling Alley! These front-runners have been leading by double-digits in the polls, but contenders try to catch up as primaries near. We break down three governor's races and whether their campaign strategy seems to hold up. In this episode, we cover: Is Marsha Blackburn's Tennessee lead actually collapsing? – Blackburn led John Rose by 53 points and Monty Fritz by 58 points
Episode 8
Two new polls of Michigan's Democratic Senate primary released within days of each other disagree by twenty points on who's leading the field. Plus, who are "double haters" voting for in November? In this episode, we cover: - Which poll do you believe in Michigan's Senate primary? Detroit News and Data for Progress released dueling surveys on the Democratic Senate primary. One shows Haley Stevens
Episode 7
Two Senate candidates dropped out this week, and Maine Democrats scramble to find someone capable of beating Susan Collins. In this episode, we cover: - Who could replace Graham Platner in Maine and can anyone beat Susan Collins? Platner is out, and Maine Democrats have until the 27th to name a replacement with no clear heir apparent. We break down why PPP shows Troy Jackson leading while Janet M
Episode 6
Pete Buttigieg and JD Vance are leading the primary fields in Overton Insights' latest national poll. This is a special episode breaking down the March 2026 Overton Insights national poll, from presidential primary matchups to findings about unpopular political commentators and what voters think about a military draft. In this episode, we cover: Buttigieg leads, but can he actually win? Pete B
Episode 5
Maine's Democratic Senate primary has a clear frontrunner in Graham Platner, but while he is now polling better than Susan Collins, can this momentum last in a general election matchup? Plus: does who pays for a poll tell you everything about the results? In this episode, we cover: Is Graham Platner the inevitable Democratic nominee in Maine? New polling shows Platner leading incumbent Governor J
Episode 4
Every poll showed Paxton leading in the Texas Senate primary — and every poll ended up wrong. Mark called it last episode, and he's back to explain why undecided voters are the key factor that most pollsters keep ignoring. Check out The Polling Alley Podcast on Youtube 👉 The Polling Alley Podcast In this episode, we cover: Was the Texas Senate primary a polling failure or a lesson in readin
Episode 3
The Texas Senate primaries are a month away with both sides still a toss-up. Who's going to win, and does Texas finally have a chance of turning purple? In this episode, we cover: Is Texas becoming a purple state, or are Democrats fooling themselves? With two interesting primaries on both the Republican and Democratic sides, we break down why the Texas Senate race has gone national, why Emers
Episode 2
Welcome back to The Polling Alley! In this episode, we're breaking down tight races in Ohio, what tax-free gambling could mean for prediction markets, and key local election results across the country. Could tax-free gambling help or hurt prediction markets? – Trump recently told a reporter he'd consider eliminating taxes on gambling winnings. We discuss what this could mean for sports betting p
Episode 1
Welcome to the very first episode of The Polling Alley! In this episode we're diving deep into a debate that's dividing the data world: polls vs prediction markets. Mark and Michael also analyze the government shutdown's effects on the November elections and some interesting finds from our own latest poll. In this premiere episode, we cover: What's the difference between prediction markets and
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