Elections and Campaigns

Inside Obama’s Sweeping Victory

Obama Leads McCain 52% to 46% in Campaign’s Final Days

Barack Obama holds a significant lead over John McCain in the final days of Campaign 2008. The Pew Research Center’s final pre-election poll of 2,587 likely voters, conducted Oct. 29-Nov. 1, finds 49% supporting or leaning to Obama, compared with 42% for McCain; minor party candidates draw 2%, and 7% are undecided. The survey [...]

Democrats Post Gains in Affiliation Across Age Cohorts

Internet Now Major Source of Campaign News

Democrats Hold Party ID Edge Across Political Battleground

The Element of Surprise

McCain Support Continues Downward Spiral

Barack Obama leads John McCain by a 52% to 36% margin in Pew’s latest nationwide survey of 1,325 registered voters. This is the fourth consecutive survey that has found support for the Republican candidate edging down. In contrast, since early October weekly Pew surveys have shown about the same number of respondents saying they [...]

Liberal Dems Top Conservative Reps in Donations, Activism

With less than two weeks to go before Election Day, voters remain riveted to the presidential campaign. But liberal Democrats are leading the way by engaging in far more activism than other partisan and ideological groups. By almost any measure of political interest or activity, liberal Democratic voters are more strongly connected to this [...]

Growing Doubts About McCain’s Judgment, Age and Campaign Conduct

Barack Obama’s lead over John McCain has steadily increased since mid-September, when the race was essentially even. Shortly after the first presidential debate on Sept. 26, Obama moved to a 49% to 42% lead; that margin inched up to 50% to 40% in a poll taken just after the second debate. Currently, Obama enjoys [...]

Post-Debate: Palin Still Seen as Unqualified, a Bump for Biden

While last week’s vice-presidential debate had a larger audience than any other in history, voters’ impressions of Sarah Palin have changed little. A special re-interview this weekend of voters who had been first polled a week ago found that most (55%) continue to have a favorable view of Palin, but most (52%) also still [...]

A Word about Debate Impressions

Obama Boosts Leadership Image and Regains Lead Over McCain

Barack Obama has achieved a significant lead over John McCain in the days following the first presidential debate. Pew’s new survey conducted Sept. 27-29 finds that Obama has moved to a 49% to 42% advantage among registered voters. The race was virtually even in mid-September and early August. Obama had not led McCain by [...]

Uncertain Times

The Candidates: In a Word

Cell Phones and the 2008 Vote: An Update

McCain Gains On Issues, But Stalls As Candidate Of Change

With two eventful and closely followed political conventions now in their rearview mirror, voters’ views of Barack Obama and John McCain have changed in some ways, yet remain the same in others. What has not changed is that the race remains very close: a national survey of 2,509 voters interviewed Sept. 9-14 on both [...]

The Bounce Effect

Obama’s Challenge

A Closer Look at the Parties in 2008

More Americans Question Religion’s Role In Politics

Some Americans are having a change of heart about mixing religion and politics. A new survey finds a narrow majority of the public saying that churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters and not express their views on day-to-day social and political matters. For a decade, majorities of Americans [...]

Presidential Race Draws Even

With less than two weeks to go before the start of the presidential nominating conventions, Barack Obama’s lead over John McCain has disappeared. Pew’s latest survey finds 46% of registered voters saying they favor or lean to the putative Democratic candidate, while 43% back his likely Republican rival. In late June, Obama held a [...]

The Power of the Protest Vote

Should Women Worry Obama?

Cell Phones and the 2008 Vote: An Update

Belief that Obama is Muslim is Durable, Bipartisan – but Most Likely to Sway Democratic Votes

Likely Rise in Voter Turnout Bodes Well for Democrats

The outlook for the presidential election at mid-year is substantially different than at comparable points in time in recent campaigns. First, turnout is likely to be higher this fall – perhaps much higher than in previous elections – as voter interest continues at record levels. Second, as has been the case since the start [...]

Interest In Gas Prices Remains High

Summary of Findings The public’s top story last week was the rising price of gasoline. Fully 62% of Americans followed news about gas prices very closely, and four-in-ten said it was the story they followed more closely than any other. Gas prices overshadowed the presidential campaign as the public’s most closely followed story by a [...]

Most Americans See a Black Nominee as Important for Country

Summary of Findings A solid majority of Americans say it as at least somewhat important to the country that an African American has won the presidential nomination of a major political party. But there are wide political and racial divisions over the significance of Barack Obama’s history-making achievement. Overall, 36% of the public says it [...]

Many Say Coverage is Biased in Favor of Obama

Summary of Findings Over the course of the primary campaign season greater numbers heard about controversies associated with Barack Obama than heard about other campaign events. Nonetheless, far more Americans believe that the press coverage has favored Barack Obama than think it has favored Hillary Clinton. Nearly four-in-ten (37%) say that in covering the Democratic [...]

Obama Backers Cool to Clinton as Running Mate

On the morning after Barack Obama’s historic nomination victory, attention has quickly turned to the question of possible running mates — specifically whether Obama and Hillary Clinton will join forces in a so-called “Dream Ticket.” In a survey conducted in late May (May 21-25), a majority of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters (53%) said they would [...]