Wedgewood Polling said it used “fabricated numbers” in an “experimental project,” admitting the fake data had been released as election polling rather than real survey results.
15 polls were removed by The New York Times and 17 by Decision Desk HQ after the admission, though Decision Desk said its Senate and House control projections did not change.
Michigan Democrat Mallory McMorrow said the bogus polling dried up donations and fueled pressure on her to quit, while a pro-McMorrow strategist said donors pulled back as her side was already being outspent by $80 million.
Democratic operatives and analysts called the episode fraud rather than a harmless stunt, with FiftyPlusOne saying it had already been investigating Wedgewood before the firm issued its statement.
The scandal lands weeks before November’s fight for Congress, sharpening scrutiny of poll vetting after Wedgewood’s numbers had been cited in races from Michigan and Wisconsin to Texas.