Maroc - RAWSTORY.COM - Raw Story - 10/Sep 13:39

'Nate Silver is paid by Peter Thiel': Never Trumper scrambles to dismiss poll prediction

Polling expert and FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver updated his presidential election forecast Sunday and gave GOP nominee Donald Trump a 63.8 percent chance of winning the Electoral College in November, with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris trailing with only a 36 percent chance.But veteran conservative consultant Stuart Stevens — a Never Trumper conservative who is supporting Harris — is critical of Silver's forecast, arguing that there is a connection between Silver's FiveThirtyEight and billionaire Trump supporter Peter Thiel.In a Tuesday post on X, Stevens wrote, "Polymarket is Peter Thiel's creation. @NateSilver538 is being paid by Peter Thiel."READ MORE: 'Grand Canyon-sized chasm': How this MAGA candidate proves 'the problem with judgingIn May, Forbes reported that "controversial billionaire political donor Peter Thiel and Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin" had "raised about $70 million in funding for Polymarket."According to Axios' Sara Fischer, the predictions market platform Polymarket hired Silver as an adviser in July.Stevens is a veteran of conservative politics and has worked with many well-known Republicans over the years, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).But he is a scathing critic of Trump who has been heavily involved in The Lincoln Project, a conservative anti-Trump group that is also supporting Harris.Many national and battleground state polls have been showing a very close presidential race, with Harris slightly ahead in some polls and Trump slightly ahead in others. Stevens, however, believes Harris will enjoy a major surge in the weeks before the election that will recall Ronald Reagan's surge in the 1980 race.READ MORE: Right-winger Leonard Leo pledges $1B to 'crush liberal dominance'