Pollster ratings · Head to head

Rasmussen vs. Selzer: which pollster is more accurate?

Selzer comes out ahead on 6 of 6 measures in the Crosstab Trust Index, which grades pollsters on how close their final polls came to actual results from 1998 to 2022.

 
Rasmussen Reports
C
Trust Score 27/100 · rank #59
★ Ahead
Selzer & Co.
A+
Trust Score 94/100 · rank #1

Head to head

MeasureRasmussenSelzer
Trust Score27/10094/100 ★
Average error
how far final polls missed the result
4.9 pts2.7 pts ★
Versus expected
error compared with what its races predicted
0.3 worse2.1 better ★
Consistency
random miss once its tilt is removed
±4.7 pts±2.7 pts ★
Historical bias
closer to even is better
D+1.7D+0.3 ★
Winners called67%89% ★
Track record
final polls analyzed, 1998–2022
139 polls35 polls
2026 polls19—
2026 lean
versus other polls of the same races
D+0.6—

Compare them in the interactive Trust Index All pollster ratings

More comparisons: Rasmussen Reports vs. YouGov · Selzer & Co. vs. YouGov · Emerson College vs. Rasmussen Reports · Emerson College vs. Selzer & Co. · Rasmussen Reports vs. University of New Hampshire Survey Center · Selzer & Co. vs. University of New Hampshire Survey Center · New York Times/Siena College vs. Rasmussen Reports · New York Times/Siena College vs. Selzer & Co.

Frequently asked questions

Which is more accurate, Rasmussen or Selzer?

Selzer has the smaller average error (2.7 pts vs. 4.9 pts). Overall, selzer comes out ahead on 6 of 6 measures in the Crosstab Trust Index (Rasmussen: C, Trust Score 27; Selzer: A+, Trust Score 94).

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 2026-10-04 · Crosstab, nonpartisan polling analysis.