'Redskins Rule' Gives Presidential Victory to Hillary Clinton

WASHINGTON, DC — Forget making it into Super Bowl 51, the Washington Redskins have a bigger task ahead of them: predicting who will be the next president of the United States. In the topsy-turvy race between Republican businessman Donald Trump and Democratic former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, no guess as to the Election Day outcome is too wacky.

Among the various predictions ahead of Nov. 8 — scientific polls, statistical models, who is the taller candidate — the Redskins Rule says that if Washington wins its final home game before a presidential election, the incumbent party will retain the White House, thereby giving Clinton the win.

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Since 1932 the so-called Redskins Rule has been accurate every election except for 2012, says Wikipedia.

So if the rule holds true, Clinton can start measuring for new drapes in the Oval Office, because the Redskins defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20 on Oct. 16.

Washington’s 27-27 tie on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals isn’t a factor in the rule, since the tie came on the road. And, this coming weekend Washington has a bye week, and won’t be back in NFL action until Nov. 13 at home against Minnesota.

If you want a slightly more scientific prediction, an average of polls by Real Clear Politics on Monday gives Clinton a 3-point lead nationally, 48 percent to 45 percent, down 3 points from last week.

A Washington Post-ABC Tracking Poll released Sunday shows a very tight race, with Clinton at 46 percent and Trump at 45 percent among likely voters in interviews from Tuesday through Friday.

American University Professor Allen J. Lichtman, who has correctly predicted the winner of every presidential race since 1984, says that Trump will win by a narrow margin, Yahoo News reports. His projections are based on 13 true/false questions, or “keys,” that gauge the strength of the incumbent party. So far, that leans toward the GOP, but Lichtman warns that given Trump’s volatile nature, it could shift.

That puts the election back in the hands of voters on Nov. 8.

»Patch file photo