2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Spends 0 on Polling, Hillary Spends $900k. Bernie Doesn't Need Polling [View all]brooklynite
(96,882 posts)...it's great that Bernie can make a speech; but it won't automatically turn out voters ON Election Day; for that you need staff to direct your volunteers; you need to know which States and Cities to spend money on (office space, mailing, advertising). For THAT, it's useful to know where your message is resonating and where it's not.
I think some people here look at what's happening in Iowa and NH and don't think about how BIG the game board gets. Texas has 1 million Democratic votes (not all as liberal as Sanders) spread over an immense amount of territory, and votes the same day as nine other States. Since Sanders won't have the financial resources, he'll need to target his available GOTV operation where it can do the most good. That's where polling is useful.