A global data company is trying to make a splash with a study that predicts the outcome of next month’s U.S. Senate elections based on Google searches for each candidate’s name.
When it comes to Maine’s Senate race, the marketing data firm, SEMrush, makes a bold prediction: that Republican Eric Brakey will win, with 54 percent of the vote.
But SEMrush forgot something important: the incumbent, Sen. Angus King.
King, who is expected to win re-election easily on Nov. 6, is an independent, of course. SEMrush apparently considered only Republicans and Democrats, because the company gives Democrat Zak Ringelstein 46 percent, which leaves exactly 0 percent of the vote for King, a former Maine governor who was first elected to the seat in 2012. SEMrush circulated the report to media outlets Thursday.
Told of the mistake, a spokeswoman for SEMrush said it was “a total oversight” and that the data scientists would update the report soon.
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