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Politics

Most Recent Releases

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December 8, 2008

Governor’s Race Is Wide Open In Virginia

The election is 11 months away, but the four leading candidates for the next governor of Virginia are neck-and-neck at this point, with one-third of voters in the state not aware of any of them enough to even an opinion about them.

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December 7, 2008

Holiday Snapshots: Illinois Tops Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Virginia in Plans for More Holiday Spending

The holiday season is bringing less joy to retailers this year, with 60% of adults nationally saying they plan to spend less on gifts.

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December 6, 2008

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending December 5, 2008

The election was over a month ago, or was it?

Just this past Tuesday Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss won Georgia’s Senate run-off, finally ensuring that Democrats will not have a 60-Democrat filibuster-proof Senate.

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December 5, 2008

67% of Minnesota Voters Expect Coleman to Win

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Minnesota voters now expect incumbent Republican Norm Coleman to beat Democrat Al Franken in the state’s U.S. Senate race, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Minnesota taken Thursday night.

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December 5, 2008

46% Say Congress Should Be Able To Override Presidential Pardons

Forty-six percent (46%) of U.S. voters say Congress should be able to overturn presidential pardons it thinks are unjustified, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

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December 4, 2008

66% in Illinois Oppose Pardon for Former Governor

Two-thirds of adults in Illinois (66%) are opposed to a presidential pardon for former Governor George Ryan, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state.

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December 4, 2008

Jackson Is Top Choice of Illinois Democrats To Succeed Obama in Senate

Rep. Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. is the clear favorite of Illinois Democrats among the party’s top five candidates to succeed Barack Obama as the state’s junior U.S. senator.

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December 4, 2008

Pennsylvania Senate: Specter 46% Matthews 43%

Republican Senator Arlen Specter is potentially vulnerable in his 2010 bid for re-election. A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Pennsylvania voters finds Specter leading MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews by just three percentage points, 46% to 43%, in a match-up that may foreshadow one of the nation's most closely-watched Senate races.

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December 3, 2008

74% Say Government Not Doing Enough to Secure Borders

Seventy-four percent (74%) of U.S. voters continue to believe the federal government is not doing enough to secure the country’s borders, even as President-elect Obama has named a new secretary of Homeland Security who is opposed to a border fence.

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December 3, 2008

59% Say Terror Attack in U.S. Likely in Next Year

Nearly three-out-of-five U.S. voters (59%) say a terrorist attack in the United States like the one last week in India is at least somewhat likely in the next year. Twenty-three percent (23%) say it is Very Likely.

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December 2, 2008

55% Confident That Obama’s Team Will Beat Back Economic Woes

Fifty-five percent (55%) of Americans are at least somewhat confident that Barack Obama’s economic team can lead the country out of its current economic problems. Twenty-five percent (25%) are Very Confident.

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December 1, 2008

Just 12% Give Paulson Good or Excellent Marks for Job Performance

Only 12% of U.S. voters say Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has done a good or excellent job handling the country’s credit crisis and the bailout programs aimed at helping the economy.

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December 1, 2008

Voters Divided and Unsure Over Obama’s AG Choice

Voters are evenly divided over the man Barack Obama wants to be the next attorney general of the United States, but 54% don’t know enough about him to have an opinion, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

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November 29, 2008

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending November 28

America’s at war and in the midst of economic problems of an historic magnitude. We’re also at the end of one presidency and the beginning of the next, with a largely new cast of characters to lead the nation at this critical time.

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November 28, 2008

68% Say Obama Politically Liberal

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of American voters see Barack Obama as politically liberal, including 41% who say he is very liberal.

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November 26, 2008

47% Say Biden’s Role Will Not Be As Big as Cheney’s

Nearly half of U.S. voters (47%) say Vice President-elect Joseph Biden will not play as important a role in the Obama Administration as Vice President Dick Cheney did during the Bush years.

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November 26, 2008

Defense Secretary Is Popular Holdover for Obama

Gates, who has been defense secretary for two years, is viewed favorably by 44% of U.S. voters, with 16% rating their view as Very Favorable. He is regarded unfavorably by just 21%, including seven percent (7%) who say their opinion of him is Very Unfavorable.

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November 25, 2008

Voters Have Low Opinion of Congressional Democrats Key to the Economy

The key Democrats on Capitol Hill who will be working to reverse the country’s financial downturn are better known than Barack Obama’s new economic team but not better thought of by voters.

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November 24, 2008

New Treasury Secretary An Unknown to 53% of Voters

Wall Street is reportedly reassured by President-elect Obama’s choice of Timothy Geithner to be secretary of the Treasury, but right now 53% of U.S. voters don’t know enough about him to have an opinion about his selection.

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November 24, 2008

49% Say U.S. Should Keep Guantanamo Prison Open

Nearly half of U.S. voters (49%) say the United States should not close the terrorist prison camp at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba, but the identical number (49%) also say Barack Obama is Very likely to close it in the first year of his presidency.