When Compared to McCain, Voters Trust Clinton More than Obama on Five Key Issues

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Democrats are trusted more than Republicans on eight out of ten key electoral issues tracked regularly by Rasmussen Reports. However, the numbers change when specific candidates names are included. Data released last week showed that McCain typically outperformed the GOP label on five key issues including the economy and the War in Iraq.

Issues measured this week tend to show Hillary Clinton performing better than Barack Obama when matched against John McCain.

Immigration

When it comes to immigration, the Democrats have a four-point lead over Republicans. When asked of specific candidates, voters are evenly split between Clinton and McCain at 36%. However, McCain leads Obama 45% to 38% on this issue. Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters view immigration as a very important issue.

Health Care

Nationally, the Democrats have a decisive 52% to 36% lead over Republicans on the issue of Healthcare. Those numbers are similar when the choice is between Clinton and McCain. On this issue, Clinton leads 48% to 34%. Meanwhile, Obama has just a five-point lead over McCain on this issue. Healthcare is a very important issue for 60% of voters.

Balancing the Federal Budget

Clinton also enjoys a solid lead over McCain when it comes to balancing the federal budget-- 46% of voters trust the former First Lady more, while 38% trust McCain more. McCain leads Obama by three points in this category.

Negotiating Trade Agreements

When it comes to negotiating trade agreements, McCain leads Clinton 42% to 37%. McCain holds a wider lead over Obama, 46% to 37%.

Education

Nationally, the Democrats have six-point advantage over GOP’s when it comes to the issue of education. Clinton dominates McCain in this category, 51% to 31%. Obama leads the GOP candidate by just five points. Education is considered a very important issue by 61% of American voters.

See survey questions and toplines for McCain & Obama on Issues and McCain & Clinton on Issues. Crosstabs for McCain & Obama on Issues and McCain & Clinton on Issues available for Premium Members only.

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

The Rasmussen Reports ElectionEdge™ Premium Service for Election 2008 offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a Presidential election.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.

This telephone survey of 400 Likely Voters per night was conducted by Rasmussen Reports April 28-29 and May 2-4 2008. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

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