If it's in the News, it's in our Polls. Public opinion polling since 2003.

Elections

Most Recent Releases

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October 14, 2008

54% Pay Attention to Political Ads, 62% Rate Most Ads Negative

While Barack Obama spent $21 million on television advertising in the first week of October alone, just over half of U.S. voters (54%) say they pay at least somewhat close attention to political ads, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

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October 13, 2008

Voters Think More of Biden Than Palin

Barack Obama’s running mate, longtime Delaware Senator Joseph Biden, is now viewed more favorably than Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, primarily because the latter just can’t close the deal with women.

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October 11, 2008

New Rasmussen Reports Partisan Weighting Targets: 39.3% Democrat 33.0% Republican

Like all polling firms, Rasmussen Reports weights its data to reflect the population at large. Among other targets, Rasmussen Reports weights data by political party affiliation using a dynamic weighting process.

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October 11, 2008

55% Expect Obama Victory, Only 15% Believe McCain Will Win

Fifty-five percent (55%) of voters now expect Barack Obama to win the election in November and become the 44th President of the United States. Just 15% expect a McCain victory while 27% say the race is too close to call.

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October 9, 2008

Voters Say Obama Won Debate, McCain More Prepared To Be President

Voters say Barack Obama beat John McCain in Tuesday night’s presidential debate 45% to 28%, but they also think McCain is better prepared to be president than Obama by an 11-point margin.

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October 8, 2008

76% Support Showing Photo ID Before Voting

Three out of four U.S. voters (76%) believe a person should be required to show photo identification at the polls before being allowed to vote, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 18% do not agree.

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October 7, 2008

Most Voters Expect Brokaw to Be Neutral at Debate

Two-thirds (67%) of U.S. voters have a favorable opinion of Tom Brokaw, the moderator of tonight’s presidential debate, and nearly as many (62%) expect him to be neutral.

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October 6, 2008

Most Americans Still Say U.S. Is Best Country in the World

Seventy-two percent (72%) of U.S. voters say the United States is the best nation in the world, despite the country’s economic woes and criticism of American foreign policy from abroad.

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October 5, 2008

59% Would Vote to Replace Entire Congress

Congress was front and center in the national news last week and the American people were far from impressed. If they could vote to keep or replace the entire Congress, 59% of voters would like to throw them all out and start over again.

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October 4, 2008

New Rasmussen Reports Party Weighting Targets: 39.3% Democrat 33.3% Republican

Like all polling firms, Rasmussen Reports weights its data to reflect the population at large. Among other targets, Rasmussen Reports weights data by political party affiliation using a dynamic weighting process.

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October 4, 2008

45% Say Biden Won Debate, 37% Say Palin

The Vice Presidential debate on Thursday night attracted a bigger television audience than the Presidential debate a week earlier, but is not likely to have much of an impact on the results of Election 2008.

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October 3, 2008

59% Agree With Ronald Reagan—Government Is The Problem

In his first inaugural address, President Ronald Reagan delivered a line succinctly capturing the sentiment that elected him: “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”

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October 2, 2008

34% Say Veep Debate Key To Their Vote

Just over one-third of voters (34%) say tonight’s vice presidential debate is Very Important to how they will vote, and over half (54%) view Joseph Biden as the more skilled debater, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

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October 1, 2008

Most Voters Say Children Motivate Mothers in Political Office

While some debate whether Sarah Palin as a mother of five can be vice president, 67% of voters say children are a motivation for women in political office, not a distraction, and nearly one-third (31%) believe being a good wife and mother is a qualification to run for higher office.

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September 29, 2008

Obama Gets Post-Debate Boost in Voter Trust on All Issues

While the results for the first presidential debate Friday were mixed, voters in surveys this weekend gave a boost in trust to Barack Obama over John McCain on a cross-section of issues.

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September 27, 2008

New Rasmussen Reports Party Weighting Targets: 39.0% Democrat 33.4% Republican

Like all polling firms, Rasmussen Reports weights its data to reflect the population at large. Among other targets, Rasmussen Reports weights data by political party affiliation using a dynamic weighting process.

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September 27, 2008

Winner of the First Debate: Jim Lehrer

The winner of the first Presidential debate was moderator and PBS television personality Jim Lehrer. After earlier polls showing that most voters expect the moderators to be biased, 76% say Lehrer was neutral.

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September 26, 2008

48% Disagree with McCain, Think Debate Should Go On

Nearly half (48%) of voters disagree with John McCain’s request to postpone the first presidential debate tonight because of the country’s ongoing financial problems. Thirty four percent (34%) think McCain is right, and nearly one-out-of-five voters (18%) are undecided.

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September 24, 2008

Palin Still Viewed More Favorably – And Unfavorably – Than Biden

A month after they were named the vice presidential candidates of their respective parties, Sarah Palin is still viewed more favorably by voters than Joseph Biden, 54% to 49%. She also draws stronger feelings - pro and con - in a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

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September 23, 2008

Most Voters say Debate Moderators are Biased

Three out of four U.S. voters (74%) say they are Very Likely to watch the upcoming presidential debates, but over half (56%) think debate moderators are biased in their questioning, according to new Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveys taken Friday and Saturday nights.