But pollster Nate Silver, founder of the 538 polling analysis site, said there were signs of peril for those who were looking.

Writing about the election results, he noted a poll from New York City last month, which indicated Trump making major inroads in the traditional Democratic stronghold.

“This is a problem the party should have been prepared for, because there was plenty of evidence for it in polls and election data,” he wrote.

Debate about the polls is sure to continue in the months ahead.

That is particularly true in a year in which figures like Trump and billionaire supporter Elon Musk have promoted betting markets – many of which did forecast a decisive Trump victory – as a more accurate alternative.

Experts said the polling profession does face challenges.

Response rates to surveys have plunged, as it becomes easier for people to screen calls from unknown numbers.

The fall has also coincided with rising distrust of media and institutions – a feature particularly pronounced among Trump supporters that some argue has led to their under-representation.

Prof Bailey said the big miss in the much-discussed poll of Iowa by Ann Selzer – that was released days ahead of the election and indicated a three-point lead for Harris in the state – showed the risks of the traditional approach.

To make up for such issues, many of the most high-profile polls now function more like models, with firms weighting responses from different groups and making other assumptions about factors such as turnout.

Many pollsters have also shifted to using online surveys, but experts said those were known for being unreliable.

This year, voters who were inclined to fill out online polls were more likely to be Democrats, James Johnson of London-based polling firm JL Partners told the Times of London newspaper. They were “more likely to be young, they’re more likely to be highly-engaged, they’re more likely to be working from home,” he said.