Young Voters Supported Obama Less, But May Have Mattered More
In winning reelection, Barack Obama won 60% of the vote among those younger than 30. That was down somewhat from 2008, when Obama won nearly two-thirds (66%) of the votes of young people. However, Obama’s youth support may have been an even more important factor in his victory this year than it was in 2008. […]
Low Marks for the 2012 Election
The 2012 presidential campaign was a frustrating experience for many voters, who say the campaign was more negative than usual and had less discussion of issues than in most previous campaigns. Both Obama and Romney get mixed grades for the job they did reaching out to voters, as do campaign consultants, the press and […]
Lessons from the 2012 Election
By Andrew Kohut, Pew Research Center President November 14, 2012 Postelection talk of “lessons learned” is often exaggerated and misleading, and so it is in 2012. A week after President Obama won re-election, two themes are dominant. First, that Mr. Obama kept his job because key elements of his base—notably young people, African-Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans—turned […]
No Consensus View on Election Outcome
Voters had a mixed reaction to the outcome of the 2012 presidential election in the hours immediately following Barack Obama’s victory. Reflecting the narrow vote margin between the candidates, 44% of voters overall said they were happy with the outcome, while 43% said they were unhappy, according to a Pew Research Center report based […]
A Comparison of Results from Surveys by the Pew Research Center and Google Consumer Surveys
As internet use grows– whether through a traditional computer, tablet, gaming device or cell phone – new techniques are being developed to conduct social research and measure people’s behavior and opinion while they are online. The Pew Research Center has been exploring these new techniques for measuring public opinion and critically evaluating how they compare […]
Changing Face of America Helps Assure Obama Victory
Barack Obama retained enough support from key elements of his base to win reelection, even as he lost ground nationally since 2008. In particular, Obama maintained wide advantages among young people, women, minorities, and both the less affluent and the well-educated. Overall, Obama benefited from relatively strong turnout – both nationally and in key battleground […]
More Interest in Hurricane Sandy than Election
Just over half of the public (53%) say they followed news about Hurricane Sandy and the storm’s impact very closely last week, outpacing interest in the 2012 presidential election (47% very closely) and news about the U.S. economy (38% very closely). The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & […]
Graphic: The Final Days of Campaign 2012
Obama and Romney have switched places in poll results over the final two months of the campaign. This chart tracks likely voters, based on national polls conducted by Pew Research Center. Read Pew Research’s final estimate for Election Day, which allocates a portion of the undecided voters to each candidate here.
Obama Gains Edge in Campaign’s Final Days
Barack Obama has edged ahead of Mitt Romney in the final days of the presidential campaign. In the Pew Research Center’s election weekend survey, Obama holds a 48% to 45% lead over Romney among likely voters. The survey finds that Obama maintains his modest lead when the probable decisions of undecided voters are taken […]
Nonvoters: Who They Are, What They Think
In the final days before Tuesday’s election, most of the focus will be on those likely to cast votes. But a sizable minority of adults choose not to vote or are unable to vote. By their absence, they also will affect the outcome. Nonvoters are numerous; in 2008, they constituted about 43% of the […]
In Deadlocked Race, Neither Side Has Ground Game Advantage
Just as the presidential race is deadlocked in the campaign’s final days, the candidates are also running about even when it comes to the ground game. Voters nationally, as well those in the closely contested battleground states, report being contacted at about the same rates by each of the campaigns. And with a fifth […]
Presidential Race Dead Even; Romney Maintains Turnout Edge
As the presidential campaign enters its final week, Barack Obama has failed to regain much of the support he lost in the days following the first presidential debate and the race is now even among likely voters: 47% favor Obama while an identical percentage supports Mitt Romney. The latest national survey by the Pew […]
Storify: Public Opinion on Foreign Policy
[View the story "The Foreign Policy Debate: Pew Research Findings on Public Opinion" on Storify]
Republicans Increasingly Positive About Campaign
Republicans express increasingly positive opinions about the presidential campaign and are now about as likely as Democrats to view the campaign as interesting and informative. In early September, shortly after the party conventions, far more Democrats than Republicans said the campaign was interesting and informative. The new survey by the Pew Research Center for […]
Voters Divided Over Who Will Win Second Debate
On the eve of Tuesday night’s second presidential debate at Hofstra University, voters are divided as to which candidate they think will do the better job: 41% say Obama will do better, while 37% expect Romney to prevail. This stands in stark contrast to expectations prior to the first presidential debate two weeks ago, […]
Broad Support for Photo ID Voting Requirements
Proposals to require voters to show photo identification before being allowed to vote draw overwhelming support. By 77% to 20%, voters favor a requirement that those voting be required to show photo ID. Opinion about this is little changed from six years ago, when 80% of voters supported voter photo ID requirements. Several states […]
One-in-Ten ’Dual-Screened’ the Presidential Debate
The vast majority of Americans say they followed coverage of the first presidential debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, including 56% who followed the debate live. Most of these real-time viewers watched on television, but 11% of live debate watchers were “dual screeners,” following coverage on a computer or mobile device at the […]
Biden Viewed Unfavorably, Divided Opinions about Ryan
Ahead of Thursday’s vice presidential debate, more voters view Joe Biden unfavorably than favorably, while opinions about Paul Ryan are more evenly divided. Biden’s image is far less positive than it was shortly before his 2008 debate with Sarah Palin; Ryan is viewed less favorably than Palin was just prior to the last vice-presidential […]
Romney’s Strong Debate Performance Erases Obama’s Lead
2012 Election Voter Preference Trends Track voter preferences for Obama vs. Romney overall and by demographic group among registered voters. Mitt Romney no longer trails Barack Obama in the Pew Research Center’s presidential election polling. By about three-to-one, voters say Romney did a better job than Obama in the Oct. 3 debate, and the […]
Obama Expected to Win First Presidential Debate
Heading into Wednesday night’s first presidential debate, voters expect that Barack Obama will do a better job than Mitt Romney. A substantial majority of voters plan to watch the debate: 62% say they are very likely to watch, another 21% say they are somewhat likely. The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center […]
