Prediction Markets Score the Debate a Rout: Clinton Over Trump

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Somtribune Staff Writer
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According to the people who put money on the line in the political prediction markets, Hillary Clinton clearly won the first debate.

Here’s why the markets are a useful scorekeeper. When the final bell rings and the pugilists return to their handlers, you turn to the refs to see who won, only to discover there’s no way to score the fight. Post-debate commentary doesn’t work for the same reason Spin Alley isn’t insightful — it’s dominated by partisans cheerleading their favorite candidate. But prediction markets have a way of ferreting out people’s real beliefs, because they back those beliefs with their own money.

I watched Monday evening’s debate in split-screen, tracking movements in political prediction markets as the two candidates went back and forth. During the 90 minutes of the debate, nearly $1 million was traded on the prediction market at BetFair.com. Bettors liked what they saw from Mrs. Clinton. The first major shift in the odds occurred within the first half-hour, and the odds of a Clinton presidency continued to rise as the debate went on. At no point did the markets move in Donald J. Trump’s favor.

When he boasted of his temperament, the audience laughed, and the market tilted further against him.

All told, Mrs. Clinton’s odds of winning the election rose from around 63 percent in the minutes before the debate started to 69 percent by the end. Likewise, Mr. Trump’s chances of winning the White House declined by five percentage points. Other prediction markets, such as PredictIt, showed an even larger move against Mr. Trump.

The value of the dollar relative to the Mexican peso — which has come to be the financial price most closely associated with Mr. Trump’s electoral fortunes — also fell sharply during the debate, perhaps a sign that traders don’t believe that Mr. Trump will get a chance to raise trade barriers with Mexico.

I have been watching these markets for years, and it is highly unusual to see such a large shift. After all, many factors beyond the debates are relevant to the November election. Many of these factors — such as the candidates, their positions, the state of the economy and even their way with words — are already baked into the prediction market prices.

Sure, debates historically have not shifted public opinion much, and so this large move may well prove to be an overreaction.

These changing prediction market prices don’t directly reflect who was more persuasive, but rather which candidate most exceeded expectations. Traders were already aware of the relative eloquence of both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump before the debate. This means that the change in a prediction market price tells you how much each candidate overshot or undershot those expectations. And so it would have been possible for Mrs. Clinton to have made her case more eloquently than Mr. Trump, but if traders had already expected it, the markets wouldn’t have moved.

So my interpretation is that Mrs. Clinton did more — she beat expectations about how she would perform. Or alternatively, Mr. Trump did less, significantly undershooting expectations of a more presidential performance, and thus hurting his chances of winning the White House.

By: 

the-lawyerJustin Wolfers @JustinWolfers

 

Justin Wolfers is a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan. Follow him on Twitter at@justinwolfers.

upshot

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__________________________________________

Who Will Be President?

By JOSH KATZ

Hillary Clinton has a69% chance of winning the presidency.

Last updated Tuesday, September 27 at 9:34 AM ET

CHANCE OF WINNING

69%

Hillary Clinton

31%

Donald J. Trump

The Upshot’s elections model suggests that Hillary Clinton is favored to win the presidency, based on the latest state and national polls. A victory by Mr. Trump remains quite possible: Mrs. Clinton’s chance of losing is about the same as the probability that an N.F.L. kicker misses a 48-yard field goal.

From now until Election Day, we’ll update our estimates with each new poll, as well as collect the ratings of other news organizations. You can chart different paths to victory below. Here’s how our estimates have changed over time:

JuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovember0%20%40%60%80%100%0%20%40%60%80%100%Trump31%Clinton69%Election DaySeptember 27

Where the Race Has Shifted

To understand what is driving the national trend, it’s worth taking a look at the states where the winning probabilities have changed most over the last two weeks:

4462
Trump’s chances

in Ohio
3650
Trump’s chances

in Nevada
1931
Trump’s chances

in Colorado
5263
Trump’s chances

in Iowa
4454
Trump’s chances

in North Carolina
6979
Trump’s chances

in Georgia
2126
Trump’s chances

in Michigan
816
Trump’s chances

in Maine
1420
Trump’s chances

in Pennsylvania
916
Trump’s chances

in Delaware
916
Trump’s chances

in New Mexico
2227
Trump’s chances

in Wisconsin
8487
Clinton’s chances

in Minnesota
1216
Clinton’s chances

in South Carolina
9294
Clinton’s chances

in Virginia
3641
Trump’s chances

in Florida

State-by-State Probabilities

To forecast each party’s chance of winning the presidency, our model calculates win probabilities for each state. In addition to the latest state polls, our forecast incorporates a state’s past election results and national polling.

The table below shows our model’s estimate for Democrats and Republicans in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. We have put the states into five groups based on their voting history relative to the nation since 2004.

Our estimates in states that tend to vote …

Much more Democratic

Dem. Rep.
D.C.
>99%
<1%
Calif.
>99%
<1%
Md.
>99%
<1%
N.Y.
>99%
<1%
Mass.
>99%
<1%
Vt.
99%
1%
Hawaii
98%
2%
R.I.
91%
9%

Somewhat more Democratic

Dem. Rep.
Ill.
98%
2%
Ore.
94%
6%
N.J.
94%
6%
Wash.
94%
6%
Conn.
93%
7%
Me.
84%
16%
Del.
84%
16%
N.M.
84%
16%
Mich.
74%
26%

Like the country as a whole

Dem. Rep.
Va.
94%
6%
Minn.
87%
13%
N.H.
83%
17%
Pa.
80%
20%
Wis.
73%
27%
Colo.
69%
31%
Fla.
59%
41%
Nev.
50%
50%
Ohio
38%
62%
Iowa
37%
63%

Somewhat more Republican

Dem. Rep.
N.C.
46%
54%
Ariz.
25%
75%
Ga.
21%
79%
Mo.
7%
93%
Ind.
4%
96%

Much more Republican

Dem. Rep.
S.C.
16%
84%
Alaska
12%
88%
Tex.
11%
89%
Miss.
11%
89%
Neb.
9%
91%
Ark.
8%
92%
Mont.
8%
92%
Utah
6%
94%
S.D.
5%
95%
Kan.
4%
96%
Idaho
2%
98%
Ky.
2%
98%
La.
1%
99%
Tenn.
1%
99%
N.D.
1%
99%
W.Va.
1%
99%
Ala.
1%
99%
Okla.
<1%
>99%
Wyo.
<1%
>99%

The Republicans have a 65% chance of winning the Senate →

How Other Forecasts Compare

The New York Times is one of many news organizations to publish election ratings or forecasts. Some, like FiveThirtyEight or the Princeton Election Consortium, use statistical models, as The Times does; others, like the Cook Political Report, rely on reporting and knowledgeable experts’ opinions. PredictWise uses information from betting markets.

We compile and standardize these ratings every day into one scoreboard for comparison. First, every organization’s estimate for who will win the presidency:

NYT 538 DK PW PEC Cook Roth.1 Sabato
Win presidency
69% Dem.
55% Dem.
64% Dem.
73% Dem.
87% Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Note: The 538 model shown is its default (polls-only) forecast.Qualitative ratings reflect the rating for the state in the middle of each organization’s forecast, weighted by electoral votes.

Second, each organization’s state-by-state ratings. Viewed together, the differences between the models become much clearer.

State E.V. NYT 538 DK PW PEC Cook Roth.1 Sabato
D.C. 3
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
 202 electoral votes

From 15 likely Democratic states
California 55
>99% Dem.
99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Maryland 10
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
New York 29
>99% Dem.
99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Massachusetts 11
>99% Dem.
98% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Vermont 3
99% Dem.
95% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Hawaii 4
98% Dem.
99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Illinois 20
98% Dem.
94% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Oregon 7
94% Dem.
87% Dem.
>99% Dem.
99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
New Jersey 14
94% Dem.
87% Dem.
99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Washington 12
94% Dem.
91% Dem.
>99% Dem.
99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Virginia 13
94% Dem.
74% Dem.
86% Dem.
91% Dem.
94% Dem.
Likely Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Connecticut 7
93% Dem.
90% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Rhode Island 4
91% Dem.
83% Dem.
89% Dem.
>99% Dem.
99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Minnesota 10
87% Dem.
72% Dem.
94% Dem.
94% Dem.
94% Dem.
Likely Dem.
Likely Dem.
Likely Dem.
Maine 4
84% Dem.
68% Dem.
87% Dem.
89% Dem.
87% Dem.
Likely Dem.
Solid Dem.
Likely Dem.
 181 electoral votes

From 16 competitive states
Delaware 3
84% Dem.
83% Dem.
98% Dem.
>99% Dem.
>99% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
New Mexico 5
84% Dem.
77% Dem.
95% Dem.
96% Dem.
98% Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
Solid Dem.
New Hampshire 4
83% Dem.
62% Dem.
82% Dem.
87% Dem.
98% Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Pennsylvania 20
80% Dem.
65% Dem.
81% Dem.
85% Dem.
67% Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Michigan 16
74% Dem.
67% Dem.
83% Dem.
88% Dem.
67% Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Likely Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Wisconsin 10
73% Dem.
70% Dem.
83% Dem.
85% Dem.
67% Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Colorado 9
69% Dem.
59% Dem.
74% Dem.
83% Dem.
59% Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Leaning Dem.
Florida 29
59% Dem.
56% Rep.
55% Rep.
63% Dem.
84% Dem.
Tossup
Tossup
Tossup
Nevada 6
50% Dem.
55% Rep.
72% Rep.
61% Dem.
63% Rep.
Tossup
Leaning Dem.
Tossup
North Carolina 15
54% Rep.
60% Rep.
70% Rep.
54% Dem.
59% Dem.
Tossup
Tossup
Tossup
Ohio 18
62% Rep.
62% Rep.
79% Rep.
55% Rep.
67% Rep.
Tossup
Tossup
Leaning Rep.
Iowa 6
63% Rep.
70% Rep.
93% Rep.
66% Rep.
94% Rep.
Leaning Rep.
Leaning Dem.
Leaning Rep.
Arizona 11
75% Rep.
77% Rep.
90% Rep.
88% Rep.
81% Rep.
Leaning Rep.
Leaning Rep.
Leaning Rep.
Georgia 16
79% Rep.
83% Rep.
87% Rep.
91% Rep.
75% Rep.
Leaning Rep.
Leaning Rep.
Leaning Rep.
South Carolina 9
84% Rep.
93% Rep.
>99% Rep.
98% Rep.
94% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Alaska 3
88% Rep.
86% Rep.
>99% Rep.
99% Rep.
98% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
 155 electoral votes

From 20 likely Republican states
Texas 38
89% Rep.
94% Rep.
99% Rep.
98% Rep.
91% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Mississippi 6
89% Rep.
98% Rep.
99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
75% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Nebraska 5
91% Rep.
97% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Arkansas 6
92% Rep.
99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Montana 3
92% Rep.
89% Rep.
>99% Rep.
93% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Missouri 10
93% Rep.
91% Rep.
>99% Rep.
95% Rep.
99% Rep.
Likely Rep.
Likely Rep.
Solid Rep.
Utah 6
94% Rep.
98% Rep.
>99% Rep.
98% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Likely Rep.
Likely Rep.
Solid Rep.
South Dakota 3
95% Rep.
92% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Indiana 11
96% Rep.
96% Rep.
>99% Rep.
97% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Likely Rep.
Likely Rep.
Solid Rep.
Kansas 6
96% Rep.
95% Rep.
>99% Rep.
99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Idaho 4
98% Rep.
99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Kentucky 8
98% Rep.
99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Louisiana 8
99% Rep.
98% Rep.
>99% Rep.
99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Tennessee 11
99% Rep.
99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
North Dakota 3
99% Rep.
95% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
West Virginia 5
99% Rep.
99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Alabama 9
99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Oklahoma 7
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Wyoming 3
>99% Rep.
99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
>99% Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
Solid Rep.
1 Rothenberg & Gonzales ratings are converted from a nine-category scale to a seven-category scale to make comparisons easier.
Solid
Dem.
Likely
Dem.
Leaning
Dem.
Tossup
Leaning
Rep.
Likely
Rep.
Solid
Rep.

Which Outcomes Are Most Likely

Some combinations of electoral votes are much more common than others. The chart below shows the estimated likelihood of each outcome.

0.0%0.1%0.2%0.3%0.4%0.5%0.6%0.7%0.8%0.9%100200300400500Most likely outcome 307 electoral votesMost likely outcome307 electoral votes270 electoral votes needed
Electoral votes for Hillary Clinton →

The Many Paths to the White House

The interactive diagram below illustrates Mr. Trump’s challenging path to the presidency. Here, we let you control the outcome of the nine states that have voted most like the nation since 2004, plus North Carolina, which has emerged in the past decade as a more competitive state. We then assume that Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton win the other states in which they are favored. Above all, this diagram illustrates how important Florida and Pennsylvania are to both candidates.

Select a winner in the states below to see either candidate’s paths to victory. screenshot-www.nytimes.com 2016-07-20 07-21-44 screenshot-www.nytimes.com 2016-07-20 07-24-22 screenshot-www.nytimes.com 2016-07-20 07-22-52

DRFloridaDRPennsylvaniaDROhioDRNorth CarolinaDRVirginiaDRWisconsinDRColoradoDRIowaDRNevadaDRNew HampshireIf Clinton wins Florida…If Trump wins Florida…With 10 states undecided:With these selections,

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