TPSI Admits Altering Florida Primary Poll to Favor 3rd-Place Fishback
Updated
Updated · The Independent · Aug 20
TPSI Admits Altering Florida Primary Poll to Favor 3rd-Place Fishback
3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Aug 20
Summary
TPSI acknowledged in a post-primary review that it changed some respondents’ answers in a Florida Republican gubernatorial poll to tilt results toward sponsor James Fishback, who finished third behind Byron Donalds and Jay Collins.
FiftyPlusOne said it uncovered the admission while probing a tip that TPSI had failed to disclose the survey was campaign-commissioned, a requirement for many aggregators because sponsored polls can be biased.
The polling monitor called the conduct an obvious breach of standard practice and said it will exclude TPSI from its analytics going forward.
The episode lands days after self-described “social experiment” outlet Median Strategies withdrew fake mayoral and gubernatorial polls, adding to a broader credibility crisis after major polling misses in 2024 and in this cycle’s primaries.