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

Elections

Most Recent Releases

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July 25, 2008

Military Veterans Favor McCain 56% to 37%

Voters who have served in the U.S. military favor John McCain over Barack Obama by a 56% to 37% margin.

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July 23, 2008

63% Say Trip Does Not Make Obama More Fit to be President

While Barack Obama has touted his travel to the Middle East and Europe this week as a “fact-finding” trip, 63% of Americans do not believe it makes the Democratic candidate any more qualified to be president.

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July 23, 2008

Romney Tops List of Possible McCain Running Mates

With Washington abuzz over speculation that John McCain will announce his running mate this week to take some of the focus off Barack Obama’s overseas travels, over a third of U.S. voters say Mitt Romney will be the Republican vice presidential candidate.

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July 21, 2008

Belief Growing That Reporters are Trying to Help Obama Win

The idea that reporters are trying to help Obama win in November has grown by five percentage points over the past month. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey, taken just before the new controversy involving the New York Times erupted, found that 49% of voters believe most reporters will try to help the Democrat with their coverage, up from 44% a month ago.

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July 15, 2008

Obama Leads Bush by Twenty, But Clinton Does Better Against McCain

Barack Obama says a vote for John McCain is a vote for George W. Bush’s third term, but a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that the Democratic hopeful would have a much easier time of it if he were actually running against the incumbent president this year.

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July 11, 2008

Rasmussen Markets Show No Clear Favorites in Veepstakes

Rasmussen Markets data on Friday morning shows that Hillary Clinton is given a 16% chance of becoming her party’s Vice-Presidential nominee. Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is a close second at 15% and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh is the only other Democrat to reach double digits at 12%.

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July 9, 2008

Voters Reject Obama's call for Bilingualism

Barack Obama said yesterday that “instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English,” Americans “need to make sure your child can speak Spanish.” A national telephone survey conducted last month by Rasmussen Reports found that U.S. voters overwhelmingly disagree with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

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July 9, 2008

Voters See Iraq as Biggest Difference Between Obama, McCain

Going strictly by the numbers, the biggest perceived difference between Barack Obama and John McCain can be found on the issue of Iraq.

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July 6, 2008

The Value of Party Weighting for a Tracking Poll

As we have noted many times, there is a disagreement within the polling industry as to whether or not polling firms should “weight” or adjust their sample to reflect a specific mix of Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters

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July 5, 2008

Libertarians Favor Obama and Other Looks at Election 2008

Libertarian voters make up 4% of the nation’s likely voters and they favor Barack Obama over John McCain by a 53% to 38% margin.

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July 1, 2008

42% Think Obama’s Public Funding Decision Was Smart, 40% Find it Hypocritical

Americans’ opinions are split on Barack Obama’s recent decision to opt out of public funding for his presidential campaign. A recent Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 42% of adults believe his decision was smart, while 40% think it was hypocritical.

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June 30, 2008

McCain, Obama Talk Immigration, Media Misses the Point

Following the lead of the United States Senate, most media coverage of the immigration debate misses the point. For example, a recent Associated Press story noted that since both Presidential candidates support a path to citizenship, immigration reform won’t be a “major point of differentiation” between them.

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June 26, 2008

Why Polls Sometimes Show Different Results

Since Barack Obama clinched the Democratic Presidential Nomination, most polls have shown the Illinois Senator with a modest lead over John McCain, typically around five percentage points. However, two recent polls, one by Newsweek and one by the Los Angeles Times, have shown Obama with a double digit lead.

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June 25, 2008

Just 37% Believe Clinton Wants Obama to Win

Just 37% of voters nationwide think that Hillary Clinton wants Barack Obama to win the White House this November. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 33% disagree and say that Clinton does not want an Obama victory. Thirty percent (30%) are not sure.

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June 22, 2008

63% Say McCain Sees U.S. as Fair and Decent Society, 45% Say Obama Holds That View

Sixty-three percent (63%) of Likely Voters in the United States say that John McCain views American society as generally fair and decent. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 14% think McCain views the nation as primarily unfair and discriminatory.

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June 20, 2008

Opting Out of Public Funding Unlikely to Hurt Obama

Despite all the agonized media coverage of Barack Obama’s decision to opt out of public funding for Election 2008, the decision is likely to have little impact on Obama’s standing with voters. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 30% of voters favor public funding and just 16% say it is Very Important in determining their vote.

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June 19, 2008

Obama Reverses Course on Public Funding

Barack Obama reversed course today and said he will not rely on public funding for his presidential campaign, breaking a pledge he made to pursue such an arrangement with his Republican rival John McCain.

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June 17, 2008

Voters See Big Differences Between Obama and McCain, Expect Close Election

Just 14% of voters believe there’s not much difference between Barack Obama and John McCain in terms of how they’ll actually perform as President. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found that 77% disagreed and see a significant difference.

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June 12, 2008

Most Voters Say Lobbyists Part of Any White House Campaign

Nearly three out of five voters (57%) believe it is not possible to run for the presidency without the help of lobbyists and special interest groups, even as the Obama campaign purged itself of an official with ties to the subprime lending crisis.

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June 10, 2008

61% Say Obama, McCain Wives Influence Vote

Three out of five American voters (61%) say their perception of a presidential candidate’s wife is at least somewhat important to how they vote.