How I am Following This Election

I get asked a lot about where and how I am following the news of this crazy election.

First and foremost, I love Twitter and these past few months show how valuable it is as a service. Unfortunate they haven’t been able to monetize because in my opinion, it is more important than even Facebook. It is great for the latest news, here are the best people to follow: @SamWangPhD, @JonLovett, and @NateSilver538.

Podcasts are also great, the best being Dan Carlin (from Hardcore History fame) and his Common Sense podcast. Nothing has made me rethink about voting for one of our two major parties more than his “Return of the Podcaster” episode. The most famous three political podcasts have become a guilty pleasure including 538’s Elections podcast, Keepin’ it 1600 and the Slate political gabfest. All great in their own way.

Reddit has also been insightful, which I find interesting that the top /r/all page usually has at least one /r/the_donald link and one /r/politics link. Not sure if I have ever seen a Hillary subreddit on the front page. Of course my main sources agree with my beliefs but I make it a practice to check Trump’s subreddit after big events (debates, leaks, etc) and check Breitbart as well. I think it is important to know what those on the alt-right are believing.

Prediction time: Obama won by 126 electoral votes. Hillary could lose Iowa, Michigan and/or Wisconsin, but Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona are now in play. I find myself comparing these two electoral maps at least once a week (http://www.270towin.com vs 2012’s http://www.270towin.com/2012_Election/interactive_map). Someone explain to me how Trump wins? I just don’t see it, in fact I can see Hillary win by at least 100 electoral votes, and as high as 130, pending how many Johnson takes. Regardless, Hillary is going to win in a landslide. After the 3rd debate a lot more coverage will turn to the down ticket items and whether the Democrats will take back the Senate (likely) and the House (unlikely, but possible).