Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. comes out ahead on 6 of 7 measures in the Crosstab Trust Index, which grades pollsters on how close their final polls came to actual results from 1998 to 2022.
| Measure | Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. | SSRS |
|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 59/100 ★ | 24/100 |
| Average error how far final polls missed the result | 4.4 pts ★ | 5.4 pts |
| Versus expected error compared with what its races predicted | 0 better ★ | 1.3 worse |
| Consistency random miss once its tilt is removed | ±4 pts | ±3.7 pts ★ |
| Historical bias closer to even is better | D+2.2 ★ | D+4.4 |
| Winners called | 67% ★ | 63% |
| Track record final polls analyzed, 1998–2022 | 42 polls | 30 polls |
| 2026 polls | 28 | 19 |
| 2026 lean versus other polls of the same races | D+0.6 ★ | D+0.7 |
| Race | Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. (latest) | SSRS (latest) |
|---|---|---|
| Maine Senate | Jackson 49, Collins 49 (R+2.3 vs. avg) | Jackson 49, Collins 45 (D+1.3 vs. avg) |
| Maine Governor | Pingree 49, Charles 39 (R+1.2 vs. avg) | Pingree 53, Charles 39 (D+5 vs. avg) |
| Texas Senate | Talarico 49, Paxton 49 (R+2.9 vs. avg) | Talarico 49, Paxton 43 (D+3.3 vs. avg) |
| Ohio Senate | Brown 53, Husted 46 (D+4.3 vs. avg) | Brown 49, Husted 43 (D+2.5 vs. avg) |
| Texas Governor | Hinojosa 47, Abbott 52 (R+2.2 vs. avg) | Hinojosa 46, Abbott 48 (D+0.9 vs. avg) |
| Ohio Governor | Acton 51, Ramaswamy 47 (even vs. avg) | Acton 50, Ramaswamy 42 (D+3.4 vs. avg) |
| Michigan Senate | El-Sayed 50, Rogers 49 (R+3.2 vs. avg) | El-Sayed 49, Rogers 42 (D+2.1 vs. avg) |
| Iowa Senate | Turek 49, Hinson 47 (even vs. avg) | Turek 43, Hinson 45 (R+4.2 vs. avg) |
| Michigan Governor | Benson 54, James 45 (D+2.3 vs. avg) | Benson 53, James 41 (D+5 vs. avg) |
| Iowa Governor | Sand 53, Lahn 44 (D+1.8 vs. avg) | Sand 51, Lahn 42 (R+0.9 vs. avg) |
Compare them in the interactive Trust Index All pollster ratings
More comparisons: Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. Research vs. YouGov · SSRS vs. YouGov · Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. Research vs. Emerson College · Emerson College vs. SSRS · Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. Research vs. University of New Hampshire Survey Center · SSRS vs. University of New Hampshire Survey Center · Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. Research vs. New York Times/Siena College · New York Times/Siena College vs. SSRS
Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. has the smaller average error (4.4 pts vs. 5.4 pts). Overall, beacon Research/Shaw & Co. comes out ahead on 6 of 7 measures in the Crosstab Trust Index (Beacon Research/Shaw & Co.: B, Trust Score 59; SSRS: C-, Trust Score 24).
Yes: 10 races in Crosstab's data, including Maine Senate, Maine Governor, Texas Senate, Ohio Senate.
Grades: Crosstab Trust Index, computed from FiveThirtyEight's pollster-ratings data (CC BY 4.0), 1998–2022; 2026 measures from Crosstab's polling data.
Updated 2026-11-11 · Crosstab, nonpartisan polling analysis.