“Therefore, to create an apples-to-apples comparison, we averaged actual contributions and expenditures by the number of days in office”. What does that even mean? You can adjust the scale of something to get a level playing field by dividing by the portion of something and scale it so the sum of those things is equal to one ( or 100 when making percentages). Your flaw is, as you point out, the data are cyclical and you are using the linear method of averaging. If you used your method on say Idaho temperatures, which are cyclical, you would be throwing away the signal and keeping the noise. I am not opposed to what you are trying to do. But for Pete’s sake do a good job of it.
It’s no surprise that the IDGOP spent $0 on their candidates’ campaigns. They don’t have to monetarily support them anymore.
With their base either too myopic to see the truth or too afraid to defy them, all they have to do is phone it in.
“Therefore, to create an apples-to-apples comparison, we averaged actual contributions and expenditures by the number of days in office”. What does that even mean? You can adjust the scale of something to get a level playing field by dividing by the portion of something and scale it so the sum of those things is equal to one ( or 100 when making percentages). Your flaw is, as you point out, the data are cyclical and you are using the linear method of averaging. If you used your method on say Idaho temperatures, which are cyclical, you would be throwing away the signal and keeping the noise. I am not opposed to what you are trying to do. But for Pete’s sake do a good job of it.