Microsoft gets into election forecasting

Microsoft is jumping into election forecasting with a new service from its Bing search engine that incorporates political news and polling data.

The Microsoft product is designed to work closely with search results. For example, a Bing user can search "Kentucky Senate race" and the service will show Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) with an 83 percent chance of defeating Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes. The service will soon include an option for users to see a digital list of everything they can expect to see on their physical ballot come election day, according to Bing corporate vice president Derrick Connell. The company's interactive congressional and gubernatorial map gives Republicans a 63 percent chance of winning the Senate in November, roughly in line with other forecasts.