I think a big problem is if politics is involved polling can be questionable. I bet a lot of right-wing people lie to pollsters. So they if they say they moved to Idaho for "the climate" or the "lower cost of living" - that might be a white lie or a bigger lie. The MSM is addicted to polling because it generates ez clicks (and pageviews) plus polling is fast, easy, and cheap. The MSM tends not to have local reporter investigative journalism because that's far slower, far harder, and more complex.