ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

U.S. presidential historian predicts results of November elections. Here's who he says will win

Share

An American presidential historian predicts a Kamala Harris presidency as the outcome of the U.S. November elections.

In an interview with CTV News Channel on Tuesday, Allan Lichtman forecast that Kamala Harris will become the first female president, the second of African descent and the first of South Asian descent. 

Lichtman is known for his accurate election predictions. He has correctly forecast the winner of nearly every presidential race since 1984, with the exception of one: Republican George W. Bush versus Democrat Al Gore in 2000.

Lichtman disputes that he predicted right after claiming that "Florida messed up that election," and Al Gore should have won.

His method, the "13 keys to the White House," examines the strength and performance of the incumbent party rather than polls or pundits.

In an in the National Council for the Social Studies, Lichtman outlines the 13 keys: party mandate, contest, incumbency, third part, short- and long-term economy, policy change, social unrest, scandal, foreign or military success, incumbent charisma and challenger charisma. 

"If six or more of the keys turn against the White House Party, they are predicted losers, fewer than six negative keys, they are predictive winners," Lichtman explained to CTV News Channel.

Using this model, Lichtman said in April 1982 he accurately predicted Ronald Reagan's re-election, during the worst recession since the Great Depression and when the president's approval ratings were down.

"In 2016, I defied the pundits, the pollsters and most other modellers by calling the winner as Donald Trump, which did not make me very popular in 90 per cent plus democratic Washington, D.C., where I teach at American University," Lichtman said.

Lichtman's prediction comes ahead of Tuesday's highly anticipated debate between U.S. Vice-President Harris and her opponent, former U.S. president Trump.

While many political analysts will closely watch the debate for clues about the election outcome, Lichtman cautions against putting too much stock in the event.

"Debates do not predict election results any more than any event in the campaign – the ads, the fundraising, the speeches, the dirty tricks," Lichtman said. "Hillary Clinton won all the debates and still lost in 2016. John Kerry won the debates against a very bad debater, George W. Bush, but still lost the election."

Lichtman said his prediction comes before the debate to prove that outcomes are not dependent on campaign events. "But certainly, watch the debates. They're interesting. They can give you insight into the candidates. They can be informative," he added.

Watch the full interview with Allan Lichtman at the top of the article.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.