article_snippet: Jerusalem (CNN)Either Netanyahu just staged the most dramatic political comeback in Israeli history and beyond, or something was very wrong with the polls before and during the election.
article_snippet: Polls predicted a tight race coming down to the wire, with Netanyahu in a virtual tie with Netanyahu main challenger, Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union party.
article_snippet: Only four days before the election, polls showed Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union party taking a four-seat lead into the final weekend before the election.
article_snippet: Exit polls on the night of the election showed Netanyahu had closed the gap.
article_snippet: the polls suggested Netanyahu was in a dead heat, with a very even split between right-wing and left-wing parties.
article_snippet: Netanyahu was the clear winner, running away with the election and facing a fairly clear path to create a coalition government.
article_snippet: Although the results are unofficial, it seems almost certain that Netanyahu will remain the Israeli prime minister.
article_snippet: But Mina Tzemach, the polling expert for CNN affiliate Channel 2 Israel, suggests Netanyahu was in a tight race the entire way and managed to close the gap "like a magician," using the election polls as Netanyahu final trick.
article_snippet: This time, the unexpected surprise worked in Netanyahu's favor, turning the campaign race into an election night rout.
article_snippet: In the 1996 elections, early results showed the Labor Party's Shimon Peres as the winner, but as more results came in, Netanyahu eked out a victory by fewer than 1% of the votes.
article_snippet: Degani said this election reveals the truth behind Israeli politics.
highlights_snippet: Polls predicted a tight race coming down to the wire, with Netanyahu in a virtual tie with Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union party .
  
highlights_snippet: But actual results show Netanyahu running away with the election .
  
highlights_snippet: Poll methodology, Netanyahu's last-minute turn to the right .