This election cycle has been a whirlwind. There’s no other way to say it because much of the unthinkable happened on Election Night.

The Republican debate stage was lined more than a dozen experienced politicians and nobody thought that businessman Donald J. Trump would be the nominee, but nobody thought that he could win the election.

There have been many new sources asking why national polls have failed so badly that they could not predict this outcome. To many, this has left a pit in their stomach and a headache in their skull.

The reason for the shock: The failure of the pollsters and the media to recognize that this election is not like any other. The number of Trump supporters that went unrecognized because of models that reflected likely voters and the reliance on prior demographics.

This election was anything but likely.

There is a theory for this unforgettable outcome and it is called the Bradley Effect.  The Bradley effect is “a theory concerning observed discrepancies between voter opinion polls and election outcomes in some United States government elections where a white candidate and a non-white candidate run against each other. The theory proposes that some voters who intend to vote for the white candidate would nonetheless tell pollsters that they are undecided or likely to vote for the non-white candidate.”

CNBC says “What is the “stealth Trump” vote? The theory stems from Trump’s high unfavorability rating. Because so many people dislike him, a good deal of his supporters are embarrassed to publicly say they’re voting for him. That includes telling pollsters the truth about their support for him.”

Many Trump supporters have been hiding their support for the candidate because of some of the things that he has said. However, they have obviously spoken and president-elect Donald Trump has won the
White House.

CNBC says “Luckily for our democratic process, the polls and pundits don’t get to decide who wins our elections. But they have made one thing clear: If Trump is going to win this contest, he’s going to need a significant boost from the so-called “stealth Trump supporters” out there.”

This has quite obviously became a reality and not just a thought. The “stealth Trump supporters” showed up to the polls Tuesday evening and they showed up in large numbers.

With a close to clean sweep, this election was all but unpredictable. It is has revealed a lot about our polling system and the changes that have
to be mad.

“Stealth Trump supporters” are all around us whether you know it or not. It is important that regardless of affiliation, we have to respect one
another’s opinions.

This election has caused a lot of people to hide their ideals because of the fear that someone may disagree. Everyone should be allowed to have their opinions and express them freely.

Love each other and respect each other. Right now we need to heal as a country instead of tearing
ourselves apart.

Lacking the ability to respect one another is causation of incorrect polling. This is on us as citizens, and the pollsters for not listening. Maybe in 2020, we can agree to disagree in order to get a better big picture.