Daily Briefing Oct. 18: With election days away, polls still can’t predict a winner
News editor Ben Sales discusses survey fervor before the October 27 ballot, and rising tensions between NYC Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Mayor Zohran Mamdani
Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
News editor Ben Sales joins host Jessica Steinberg for today’s episode.
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Ahead of the final barrage of election polls before the October 27 election, Sales notes that the canvassing can’t accurately predict who will win and explains why, including the issue of the smaller parties on both sides of the political spectrum that are hovering around the 3.25% electoral threshold.
Sales also discusses rising tensions between members of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s political base and NYC Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, as they call for her to be fired after police officers clashed with protesters following the shooting of a man in the Bronx by ICE agents.
The shooting, and the NYPD’s response to it, had no direct connection to Israel or antisemitism in the city. But the protest against Tisch relates to her role as a pro-Israel presence in City Hall and the implications of her potentially losing her job.
Check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
3 experts on how you’re reading election polls wrong — and why they can’t predict the result
Threats to NYPD’s pro-Israel commissioner are an inflection point for New York Jews
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.