When it comes to predicting elections, Moody's Analytics comes about as close to the seers of the crystal ball as we can get. Accurately predicting every election since 1980, with a perfect scorecard in 2012 (including all electoral votes), the Moody's model is pretty hard to beat.

The Moody's model relies heavily on economic data, including real income, real housing, and gasoline prices, as well as political data on a state-by-state basis.

The Republican National Committee on Wednesday contacted a couple of campaigns about their willingness to sign a loyalty pledge, promising to support whoever the GOP nominee ends up being in 2016 and pledging not to run on a third-party or independent ticket. As indicated during the first Republican debate, all the candidates except one were willing to swear their unconditional loyalty to the party.

I have been writing for IVN since the summer of 2014. Though my academic background is in political science, I can confidently say I have learned more about American politics in this one year of researching and writing for you (the readers) than I have in my six years in higher education.

Over this time, I must confess, many of my beliefs have remained the same.

According to the most recent data, 45 percent of American voters self-identify as independent of either the Republican or Democratic Party.

Yet, presidential polls focus almost exclusively on “high propensity” primary voters who tend to be heavily partisan. As a result, there is little information related to the sentiments of nonpartisan voters, even those who are registered or ‘lean’ toward a particular political party.

After a fiery first Republican Presidential Debate on August 6, the GOP primary field has continued to shift and change, leaving many pollsters struggling to catch up. To the surprise of many observers, Donald Trump has continued his surge – but new polling techniques helps clarify the nature of his support.