Today's Poll Question: When a Party Can’t Win, Should It Get Out of the Way For A Strong Independent Candidate?

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Get ready to vote on today's daily poll question at smerconish.com.

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But first, Michael explains it for you right here.

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Welcome to The Smerconish Podcast from SiriusXM.

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For Independent Minds.

**Michael Smerconish** (0:14)
Hello, hello. Hi, gang. Today is Tuesday. It's the 25th of July, 2026 Here are your poll results from yesterday. 33,480 voted.
Should cameras be allowed in every government proceeding, the public has a legal right to attend.
91.93% of us said yes. I was inspired to ask this question yesterday because this week C-SPAN 2 is simulcasting my radio program.
Actually, it was kind of funny because a number of folks who are not regular listeners, but tuned in yesterday and called the program wanting to vote on the poll question. And Azhara, who answers their phone calls, had to say, yeah, that's not how it works. You have to go over to sperconish.com and cast your ballot. But we enjoyed their presence and they will be back today. I'm sure it's a great opportunity for you to tune in and watch the show in real time. As I like to say, you can mute your television and turn up your SiriusXM, but get a good look at the back of the house. And yesterday was really great because Charles Barkley came in studio for the third hour of the program. We've tried to just plant a little something extra, a little special sauce for this week in terms of in-studio guests. As a matter of fact, often a tangent here, but so be it. Michael Peterson, who's the CEO of the Peterson Foundation, formed by his father, he's the guy who put a billion dollars aside, the father, Pete Peterson, to educate the public as to take the risk of our debt. And here we are just last week, a week ago today, as a matter of fact, having crossed the threshold of $40 trillion. So he'll be in studio today and special guests tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday as well. So with C-SPAN watching and the whole idea of cameras, I thought it was a good day just to talk about transparency, to reflect on the record of C-SPAN televising so many congressional events over the years. And the impact that I think that that's had. And some say bad. You know, some think that it inspires theatrics. I played yesterday for you as part of this poll podcast, some of the Sarah Iskher interview that I did back in April because she believes that it just inspires the outrageous and that... What did she say? She wants nerds in government, particularly on the court, I think is what she said. So, my view is, anywhere you've got a right to pull up a chair and watch the people's business being conducted, you should have a camera, or at least the right of a camera, if anybody is interested in the process of transmitting it. And 91% of you agreed. Today, in a state where one party can't win a Senate seat, should that party step aside for a strong candidate? More on that in a moment.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:08)
The Smerconish Podcast from SiriusXM.

**Michael Smerconish** (3:12)
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**SPEAKER_2** (4:28)
The Daily Poll Question at sperconish.com.

**SPEAKER_1** (4:31)
A non-scientific social political question designed to spark broader discussions about current issues.

**SPEAKER_2** (4:36)
Get ready to cast your ballot and leave a rating and review of this podcast on your favorite podcast app.

**Michael Smerconish** (4:43)
Poll question today. In a state where one party can't win a Senate seat, should that party step aside for a strong independent? I'm looking at a headline from the Washington Post 10 days ago, August 15, Democrats abandon Senate races in deep red states boosting independence. And then there's this fabulous photograph of an independent candidate for a United States Senate in a parade. I mean, it's just like such a Norman Rockwell Americana Coca-Cola poster in the background. Who is it? It's Seth Bodnar.