Who should have easily won but ended up blowing it?

[buritobr]

Of course Hillary 2016. When Trump decided to be candidate in August 2015 and started to lead the primary polls, the media told "this entuasiasm will end after some weeks". But he was still leading the polls when the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries took place. When Trump started to win, the media told "Trump doesn't have >50%, and all the anti-Trump republicans will join in a single candidate". When Trump became the nominee, the media told "Hillary will win".
But in this list, Gore 2000, because the other 2 options had elections in which presidents were running for reelection.
However, we should remember that there were Bush vs Gore polls since late 1998, after the midterms. During 2 years, Bush led the popular vote. Only some days after the DNC Gore led the popular vote. If you observe only the polls, Gore's victory in the popular vote was a surprise.