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Data Firm Predicting Winner Of Senate Seat Forgets Sen. King

Andrew Harnik
/
Associated Press
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on 'Policy Response to Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. Elections' on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 20, 2018, in Washington.

AUGUSTA, Maine - A global data firm aiming to predict the outcome of the U.S. Senate elections in a new study forgot to include incumbent Sen. Angus King when predicting for Maine.The marketing firm SEMrush circulated a study based on Google searches for each candidate's name and predicted Republican Eric Brakey would win with 54 percent of the vote over Democrat Zak Ringelstein's 46 percent. The Portland Press Herald reports the company apparently only considered Republicans and Democrats, leaving out the independent King entirely.
 
King is expected to win re-election on Nov. 6. The company circulated the study Thursday.
 
When informed of the mistake of not including the incumbent in the study, SEMrush says it was "a total oversight'' and says their data scientists will update the report.