A self-proclaimed polling firm that once projected far-left candidates as formidable contenders in key primary races has admitted to fabricating its polling data, triggering outrage across the political spectrum and casting a harsh spotlight on the integrity of modern political surveys.
Wedgewood Polling, which marketed itself as an election survey company, issued a statement Tuesday night confessing to using "fabricated numbers" for what it astonishingly called an "experimental project to demonstrate the vulnerabilities, lack of oversight, and overall low barrier to entry in the modern political polling industry." In other words, they claimed to be exposing a problem by actively creating one.
These deceitful polls were actively cited by campaigns, notably Abdul El-Sayed's in Michigan's high-profile primary against Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens. The nonpartisan aggregator Political Polls also picked up Wedgewood's fabricated data in Wisconsin, showing socialist Francesca Hong supposedly holding an edge over Republican candidate Rep. Tom Tiffany.
The real-world consequences were immediate and damaging. Senator McMorrow recounted how Wedgewood's bogus numbers caused her donations to dry up and led to reporters hounding her with calls to drop out of the race, demonstrating how easily a fabricated narrative can influence political outcomes and stifle genuine campaigns.
"Sure, a point was proven. Polling is broken. But tens of thousands of people poured their hearts, time, energy, hard-earned money into something they believed in - for a year-and-a-half, and it was treated like a game," McMorrow stated on X. "Trust is already at an all-time low. We don't get out of this mess without rebuilding trust. And media - who loves to ride the drama of a pollercoaster - needs to take a hard look at what's legitimate and what's not." Her words cut to the core of the problem: a system built on trust, now utterly betrayed.
The financial impact was significant. Democrat strategist Jennifer Holdsworth revealed she ran a super PAC for McMorrow, and "this poll was used by several donors to pull back funding at a time we were being outspent by $80 million." Even more troubling, high-profile outlets like The New York Times and Decision Desk HQ had cited Wedgewood's numbers, now hastily removed from their projections. The New York Times admitted it removed 15 polls after a vetting process that included Wedgewood answering "a series of questions regarding the identities of the pollsters; the methods they were using... and the source of their funding." Apparently, their answers were as fabricated as their data.
The outrage from Democrats, those directly impacted by this particular brand of election meddling, was sharp. "These people are absolute scumbags," veteran Democratic strategist and former Kamala Harris advisor Mike Nellis told Fox News Digital. "They can try to claim that they have some moral high ground here, but they lied about their polling data, got caught, and are freaking out because they've committed fraud." Nellis minced no words, adding that the culprits "should be run out of American politics, and if they can be, they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law." Funny how the call for strict accountability resonates so loudly when the fraudulent activity directly harms establishment-backed campaigns.
The extent of Wedgewood's deception is still unfolding. The group had also launched a GoFundMe to raise money for polling in Nebraska, reportedly raising $500 of its intended $5,000. Nellis rightly questioned, "Are they going to return that money? And if not, are they going to be prosecuted?" Other Wedgewood surveys claimed Democrats held significant, often improbable, edges over Republicans, such as a July poll showing James Talarico leading state Attorney General Ken Paxton among Hispanics by an astonishing 64% to 30% in Texas.
This brazen act of deception serves as a stark reminder and a vindication for those who have long challenged the veracity of political polls. President Donald Trump, a vocal critic of what he often termed "fake polls," famously defied projections that showed Hillary Clinton with a significant lead in 2016. The Wedgewood scandal underscores the dangerous fragility of a system that relies on unquestioned data, confirming that a deep skepticism is not paranoia but prudence when it comes to safeguarding our elections and the narratives that shape public perception.
This incident is a severe blow to public trust and a glaring indictment of the lax standards that allow such manipulation to fester. In a nation where every data point is scrutinized and every election hangs in the balance, the fight for control of Congress in November demands absolute integrity from all actors. The America First movement has consistently championed election integrity, and this episode proves once again that vigilance against all forms of deception is not just a preference, but a vital necessity to protect the very foundation of our Republic.
