What's, 'The Bradley Effect'?
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Bradley effect is lying to a pollster based on race...
You say to a pollster that you are voting for a minority candidate in order to ward off any perception of racism...
But when you actually go and vote (and know the vote is anonymous) you vote your true feelings and vote against the minority candidate.
Some studies show it isnt a major phenomenon but has been found to be statistically significant especially in racially-sensitive locations.
The Bradley Effect was named after Mayor Tom Bradley who was leading by 5-8% in all the polls in the CA governor’s election but narrowly lost on election day to George Dukmejian(sp).
People will tell pollsters they support the minority candidate because they fear being labeled a racist but once in the privacy of the voting booth vote otherwise.
It’s also been called the “Wilder Effect” after VA governor Doug Wilder who led by 9 or 10% in pre-election polls but eeked a victory by a few thousand votes.