ClaimsPeople

Nate Silver

Nate Silver is an election forecaster and writer who founded FiveThirtyEight and now publishes the Silver Bulletin newsletter.

617 claims collected, 163 researched, 84 resolved. Report of 10 November 2026, method 0.1.0+28da144b.

Scores by kind of claim

Each kind of claim is scored on its own, out of 100: the share that held up, with the range it likely falls in. Fewer resolved claims give a wider range.

  • Factual claims

    Statements about the present or the past, checked against the record: did they hold up?

    82 76 88

    High confidence, 63 factual claims resolved. From 19 documents, 2012 to 2026; 19 documents sampled from 35 candidates found.

    Not scored: 42 unresolvable, 7 checkable only against their own records.

  • Predictions

    Statements about events outside the person's control, checked once they fell due: did they come true?

    61 47 75

    Medium confidence, 16 predictions resolved. From 8 documents, 2015 to 2025; 19 documents sampled from 35 candidates found.

    Not scored: 12 unresolvable. 10 more fall due later.

    Does not yet allow for how likely each prediction was when made.

  • Promises

    Commitments to the person's or organisation's own future action, with something to deliver: was it delivered?

    67 46 85

    Low confidence, 5 promises resolved. From 4 documents, 2022 to 2025; 19 documents sampled from 35 candidates found.

    Not scored: 7 unresolvable.

All types combined: 77 (likely 72 to 82, high confidence), from 84 claims: 63 factual claims, 16 predictions, 5 promises. It mixes kinds of claim in different proportions for different people, so compare people kind by kind.

Nate Silver's claims

35 claims

35 claims, sorted by newest said. Choose a claim to read it in full.
VerdictKindSaidClaimTopic
Resolved true Factual 23 Oct 2026 In 2022, Republican Phil Scott won Vermont's gubernatorial race by 47 points while Democrat Peter Welch won the Vermont Senate race by 40 points. Factual · 23 Oct 2026 AI policy and governance
Resolved true Factual 12 May 2025 Winning the Senate in 2026 would require Democrats to win at least two states that are solidly red at the presidential level. Factual · 12 May 2025 Other
Delivered on time Promise 12 May 2025 The Silver Bulletin will not publish its official 2026 midterms forecast until at least a year after May 2025. Promise · 12 May 2025 Their own work or organisation
Resolved true Factual 12 May 2025 Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to win the Senate majority in 2026. Factual · 12 May 2025 Other
Resolved true Factual 12 May 2025 Susan Collins won re-election in Maine in 2020 even as Donald Trump lost the presidency to Joe Biden. Factual · 12 May 2025 Other
Resolved true Factual 8 Apr 2025 Congress has the power to pass a law stopping President Trump's tariffs. Factual · 8 Apr 2025 AI policy and governance
Resolved true Factual 8 Apr 2025 About 60% of Americans have investments in the stock market. Factual · 8 Apr 2025 Economics and markets
Resolved true Factual 7 Nov 2024 In Silver Bulletin's final model, a Trump sweep of the seven swing states was the most common scenario, occurring in 20 percent of simulations. Factual · 7 Nov 2024 Their own work or organisation
Resolved true Factual 9 Oct 2024 John McCain had periods of strong polling in 2008, especially after the Republican Convention, but Barack Obama won in a landslide. Factual · 9 Oct 2024 Science and research methods
Resolved true Factual 9 Oct 2024 As of early October 2024, the US presidential election is about four weeks away. Factual · 9 Oct 2024 Science and research methods
Resolved true Factual 9 Oct 2024 Dozens of election polls are released every week. Factual · 9 Oct 2024 Science and research methods
Resolved true Factual 13 Aug 2024 Nate Silver has moved his election forecast model back to his Silver Bulletin newsletter, where the probabilities are technically paywalled. Factual · 13 Aug 2024 Their own work or organisation
Resolved true Factual 13 Aug 2024 Millions of people died worldwide in the COVID pandemic, and life was disrupted more than at any time since World War II. Factual · 13 Aug 2024 Biosecurity
Resolved true Factual 11 Sep 2023 Nate Silver turned on paid subscriptions for the Silver Bulletin newsletter by 11 September 2023. Factual · 11 Sep 2023 Their own work or organisation
Resolved true Promise 11 Sep 2023 Nate Silver will hold periodic paid-subscriber-only Q&A threads on Silver Bulletin, answering questions from paid subscribers. Promise · 11 Sep 2023 Their own work or organisation
Resolved true Factual 8 Sep 2023 The polling firm GBAO has done millions of dollars' worth of polling for Democratic clients. Factual · 8 Sep 2023 Science and research methods
Resolved true Factual 8 Sep 2023 Polls from around September 2015 can be found showing Hillary Clinton with double-digit leads over Donald Trump. Factual · 8 Sep 2023 AI timelines and forecasting
Resolved true Factual 8 Sep 2023 Polling conducted this early in a US presidential cycle has historically had little to no predictive power for the election result. Factual · 8 Sep 2023 Science and research methods
Resolved true Prediction 30 Jun 2022 Republicans are heavy favorites to win the House in the 2022 midterms, and the Senate is a toss-up. Prediction · 30 Jun 2022 AI timelines and forecasting
Resolved true Prediction 30 Jun 2022 If Republicans take control of the House in 2023, they are pretty likely to hold COVID panels or investigations. Prediction · 30 Jun 2022 AI policy and governance
Delivered on time Promise 29 Jun 2022 Nate Silver's midterms forecast model will be published soon. Promise · 29 Jun 2022 Their own work or organisation
Resolved true Factual 24 Jun 2022 Public trust in the US Supreme Court is way down in polls as of June 2022. Factual · 24 Jun 2022 AI policy and governance
Resolved true Prediction 9 Jun 2022 Democrats could hold the Senate in the 2022 midterms if GOP candidates are subpar in a couple of key states or Democrats win the closest races. Prediction · 9 Jun 2022 AI timelines and forecasting
Resolved true Prediction 9 Jun 2022 Democrats holding the House in the 2022 midterms would require an unlikely change in the national environment. Prediction · 9 Jun 2022 AI timelines and forecasting
Resolved true Factual 26 Jun 2021 If a very high percentage of a group is vaccinated, a fairly high percentage of infections may be among vaccinated people even if the vaccines are highly effective. Factual · 26 Jun 2021 Biosecurity
Resolved true Prediction 11 Jun 2021 The US could see a rise in COVID cases because of the Delta variant, as in the UK. Prediction · 11 Jun 2021 Biosecurity
Resolved true Factual 9 Jun 2021 A pollster that earlier showed a big bounce for Garcia has now shown a result implying either that the earlier poll was an outlier or that Wiley has taken over her momentum. Factual · 9 Jun 2021 AI timelines and forecasting
Resolved true Factual 29 Mar 2020 The Netherlands considered a herd immunity strategy and its case fatality rate is now 7% as of 2020-03-29. Factual · 29 Mar 2020 Biosecurity
Resolved true Factual 27 Sep 2019 Democratic primary delegate allocation is highly proportional, and a candidate eventually needs a majority of delegates to win. Factual · 27 Sep 2019 AI policy and governance
Resolved true Factual 23 Sep 2019 Bernie Sanders polled at 11% in the highest-quality poll of Iowa released the weekend of 2019-09-21/22. Factual · 23 Sep 2019 Their own work or organisation
Resolved true Factual Nov 2016 FiveThirtyEight's final 2016 forecast, issued early on election Tuesday evening, gave Trump a 29 percent chance of winning the Electoral College. Factual · Nov 2016 AI timelines and forecasting
Resolved true Factual 11 Oct 2016 FiveThirtyEight's forecast of Clinton's chances is based on objective analysis of polling in presidential elections dating back to 1972. Factual · 11 Oct 2016 Science and research methods
Resolved true Factual 11 Oct 2016 Scientific post-debate polls showed voters thought Clinton did better in the second 2016 presidential debate. Factual · 11 Oct 2016 Science and research methods
Resolved true Factual 2015 With 75 percent of Republicans not voting for Trump, a candidate can still hold the plurality so long as the "no" vote is divided among a sufficient number of alternatives. Factual · 2015 Other
Resolved true Factual 2012 In a 2012 interview, Nate Silver described himself as being somewhere between a liberal and a libertarian. Factual · 2012 Their own work or organisation
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Nate Silver

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Factual AI policy and governance

“In 2022, for example, Republican Phil Scott won Vermont’s gubernatorial race by 47 points, while Democrat Peter Welch won the Senate contest by 40 points.”

Nate Silver, author, Silver Bulletin 23 October 2026 Do these Senate-governor splits make sense? (Silver Bulletin)

In 2022, Republican Phil Scott won Vermont's gubernatorial race by 47 points while Democrat Peter Welch won the Vermont Senate race by 40 points.

Resolved true The record shows it happened or was so.

What would count as true or false

Judged against certified November 2022 Vermont general election results. True if Phil Scott (R) won the governor's race by a margin rounding to 47 percentage points (46.5–47.4 points) and Peter Welch (D) won the U.S. Senate race by a margin rounding to 40 points (39.5–40.4), or both are within 1 point of the stated figures. Mostly true if both winners and parties are correct and each margin is within 2 points of the stated figure. Mixed if one margin is accurate and the other off by more than 2 points. Mostly false if both winners are right but both margins are off by more than 2 points. False if either winner or party is wrong.

Evidence

  1. 2022 Vermont gubernatorial election - Wikipedia Wikipedia
    “Scott's 47-point victory margin was the largest for a Republican candidate since 1950, even while Democratic congressman Peter Welch won the concurrent U.S. Senate election by a 40-point margin.”
  2. 2022 Vermont gubernatorial election - Wikipedia Wikipedia
    “Republican | Phil Scott (incumbent) | 202,147 | 70.91% | +0.75”
  3. 2022 Vermont gubernatorial election - Wikipedia Wikipedia
    “Democratic/Progressive | Brenda Siegel[f] | 68,248 | 23.94%”

Reasoning

The gubernatorial results table gives Phil Scott (R) 70.91% (E2) and Brenda Siegel (D/P) 23.94% (E3). That is a margin of about 46.97 points, which rounds to 47. The same independent article says Democrat Peter Welch won the concurrent U.S. Senate race by a 40-point margin (E1). No Senate vote totals were provided, but the stated margin matches the claim, so both winners, both parties and both margins are consistent with the claim.

Cite this claim

Nate Silver, “In 2022, Republican Phil Scott won Vermont's gubernatorial race by 47 points while Democrat Peter Welch won the Vermont Senate race by 40 points.” (said 23 October 2026). Verdict: resolved true. Reliability API, claim c_77bd31b7cbb9, method 0.1.0+28da144b. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_77bd31b7cbb9

Claims without a verdict

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