menu_open
Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

The Hill

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Mellman: Lessons from problematic Holocaust denial polling 

The lesson is clear. Question wording can have a substantial impact on responses, with complex or confusing wording yielding inaccurate results and...

10.04.2024 3

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: Religion’s political power 

Donald Trump, hardly known as a scholar of Christian scripture, is now hawking Bibles. It is a strange story that sums up an important reality in...

03.04.2024 9

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: My apologies — and a rise in Biden’s approval rating

President Biden’s approval rating actually increased by 2 points in the wake of this SOTU, better than the average increase of zero.  

27.03.2024 2

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: The SOTU fails to move Biden’s numbers. That’s no surprise.

President Biden delivered a great speech, galvanizing Democrats, demonstrating he’s still at the top of his game, giving his troops talking points...

20.03.2024 10

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: Any number in a storm — looking to predict elections

Predicting general election outcomes from primary results is a fool’s errand. The next redoubt of those scouring the tea leaves provided by primary...

28.02.2024 6

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: Will convictions hurt Trump?  

Beliefs are persistent, stubborn things. People fancy themselves open to new information and diverse perspectives, and sometimes we are. But mostly,...

14.02.2024 5

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Presidential candidates don't know when to fold

Why do these candidates so frequently postpone their reckoning with reality for so long? While each has his or her own psychology, from my experience...

07.02.2024 7

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: Updating the GOP primary and holiday shopping

Interpreting poll results requires strict fealty to the parameters of the questions’ wording. Trying to measure complex concepts with one or two...

31.01.2024 2

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: Why has Trump remained so popular with Republicans?  

Support for Donald Trump was forged by partisanship and held in place by a combination of that partisanship and people’s reluctance to change their...

17.01.2024 4

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

The pitfalls of polling about a Gaza ceasefire

People like world peace and ceasefires. But public policy involves tradeoffs and conflicting values.  Understanding how voters make the tradeoffs...

10.01.2024 4

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: Different questions, different projections

Two different questions—both seemingly reasonable—yielding opposite forecasts. How is that possible?

13.12.2023 2

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: The problem with interpreting poll crosstabs

In short, be careful interpreting crosstabs, and even more important, don’t plan a campaign strategy around applying conventional wisdom to the...

06.12.2023 2

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: The three P’s of politics 

Mixing the three P’s of politics together — partisanship, polarization and parity — makes for a bitter brew.

29.11.2023 4

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: The minimal effects of debates 

Winning a candidate debate is not tantamount to winning an election, nor should it be. You’ve heard that these debates can generate a “surge,”...

15.11.2023 6

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: To protect Gaza civilians Hamas should surrender 

Hamas could quickly protect Gaza’s civilians and dramatically improve their lives by taking a simple set of actions: Surrender unconditionally, free...

08.11.2023 2

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: Do Palestinians support Hamas? Polls paint a murky picture

It’s frankly not the central issue, but debate has swirled around whether Gazans, and Palestinians more broadly, support Hamas. Some American...

25.10.2023 3

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: A lesson from ‘Fauda’: Israel is here to stay, no matter what

Casual “Fauda” watchers, not steeped in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, might not have even noticed the scene. But it’s central to...

18.10.2023 10

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

9 UN staffers killed in airstrikes in Gaza

Nine United Nation staff members have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since Saturday, the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees confirmed...

11.10.2023 2

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: How our Constitution works against majority will

I’m certain I disagree with Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) on scores of issues, but he seems like a reasonable, thoughtful, somewhat moderate fellow...

11.10.2023 2

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: Attacking Trump turning out to be poor strategy for GOP

The TV pundits seem to have gotten it wrong. For months they’ve been haranguing Republican presidential candidates for their collective failure...

04.10.2023 2

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

Mellman: Voters support strikers, back more pay for average worker

With the Hollywood strike apparently near settlement, and the auto strike continuing, Republicans like Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) are channeling Ronald...

27.09.2023 2

The Hill

Mark Mellman, Opinion Contributor

0985a8d2d950e09193b03b5a3bb0f354