Listen Live
Donate
 on air
Schedule

KCRW

Read & Explore

  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Food
  • Culture
  • Events

Listen

  • Live Radio
  • Music
  • Podcasts
  • Full Schedule

Information

  • About
  • Careers
  • Help / FAQ
  • Newsletters
  • Contact

Support

  • Become a Member
  • Become a VIP
  • Ways to Give
  • Shop
  • Member Perks

Become a Member

Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

DonateGive Monthly

Copyright 2026 KCRW. All rights reserved.

Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
Cookie Policy
|FCC Public Files

Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Political forecaster: It’s about turnout, not swing voters

When it comes to national political elections, the common wisdom is that there are Democrats, there are Republicans, there are a few elusive swing voters in the middle, and the candidates who win can swing those middle voters to their side.

    • Share
    By Madeleine Brand • Feb 14, 2020 • 1 min read

    When it comes to national political elections, the common wisdom is that there are Democrats, there are Republicans, there are a few elusive swing voters in the middle, and the candidates who win can swing those middle voters to their side. That’s wrong, according to political forecaster Rachel Bitecofer. She says it’s all about turnout. She gained a lot of attention after she accurately predicted the so-called “blue wave” of 2018 -- practically the exact number of House seats Democrats captured.

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Michell Eloy

      Line Editor, Press Play

    • KCRW placeholder

      Alexandra Sif Tryggvadottir

      Associate producer

    • KCRW placeholder

      Rachel Bitecofer

      political scientist at Christopher Newport University

      NewsElection 2020PoliticsNational
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand