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

Public Content

Most Recent Releases

White letter R on blue background
June 4, 2012

51% Say United States Winning War on Terror

Half of U.S. voters still believe the United States is winning the War on Terror and that America is safer today that it was before the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 51% of Likely Voters say the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror, while just 16% feel the terrorists are winning that war.  Another 25% say neither side is ahead.  (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on May 30-31, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

White letter R on blue background
June 4, 2012

51% Say United States Winning War on Terror

Half of U.S. voters still believe the United States is winning the War on Terror and that America is safer today that it was before the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 51% of Likely Voters say the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror, while just 16% feel the terrorists are winning that war.  Another 25% say neither side is ahead.  (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on May 30-31, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

White letter R on blue background
June 4, 2012

Virginia: Obama 47%, Romney 47%

The presidential race in the key battleground state of Virginia remains tied.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the Old Dominion shows both President Obama and Mitt Romney picking up 47% support. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and another three percent (3%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 500 Likely Voters in Virginia was conducted on June 3, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

June 4, 2012

65% Say No To Ban on Super-Size Sugary Drinks

The mayor has spoken: No super-size sweetened drinks will be sold in New York City if he has his way, but most Americans oppose that idea.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% of American Adults oppose a law that would ban the sale of any cup or bottle of sweetened drink larger than 16 ounces. Just 24% favor a law like the one Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed as a way to fight obesity. Eleven percent (11%) are undecided about it. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on May 31-June 1, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

White letter R on blue background
June 4, 2012

Are We at a Demographic Inflection Point? By Michael Barone

Demographic forecasts generally take the form of predicting more of the same. Old people have been moving to Florida for the past several years, and old people will move there for the next few years. Immigrants have been streaming in from Mexico, and they will continue to do so. You get the idea.

June 4, 2012

51% See Federal Government As Threat to Their Rights

Just over half  (51%) of Americans continue to believe that the government is more of a threat to individual rights than a protector of them.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that only 34% of Adults in this country regard the federal government more as a protector of individual rights. Fifteen percent (15%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on May 29-30, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

June 3, 2012

24% Say States Have Right to Secede

While belief in the right of individual states to break away from the United States continues to rise, the likelihood of such a move remains doubtful to most Americans.

Twenty-four percent (24%) of Adults nationwide now think states have the right to leave the United States and form an independent country, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey. Most (59%) still disagree, but another 16% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter  or Facebook .

The national survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on May 29-30, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC . See methodology.

White letter R on blue background
June 3, 2012

52% See Romney As Mainstream, 45% Say Same of Obama

Most voters now see Mitt Romney as politically mainstream, but they're evenly divided over whether President Obama’s political views are mainstream or extreme. 

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds that 52% say it’s more accurate to describe the putative Republican nominee’s views as mainstream, while 30% regard them as extreme. Eighteen percent (18%) are undecided. 

When it comes to the president's political views, 45% of voters say they're in the mainstream, but an identical 45% say it's more accurate to describe them as extreme. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

This national survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on May 30-31, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

June 2, 2012

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending June 2, 2012

Friday was a dismal day for Team Obama with the unemployment rate inching back up and throwing cold water on hopes for an economic recovery. It’s not the kind of news the president wants to hear as he campaigns for reelection.

After all, as Scott Rasmussen contends in his latest syndicated column, “The economy matters more than campaign tactics, and the indicators at the moment are mixed at best. Additionally, most Americans believe that the president's instincts lead in the wrong direction when it comes to finding solutions.”

That helps explain why for the first time in five-and-a-half years of regular tracking, half of voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats when it comes to the economy, the issue they rate as by far the most important to how they will vote.

White letter R on blue background
June 2, 2012

Obama’s Full-Month Index Rating Matches High for This Year

When tracking President Obama’s job approval on a daily basis, people sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations that they miss the bigger picture. To look at the longer-term trends, Rasmussen Reports compiles the numbers on a full-month basis, and the results can be seen in the graphics below.

The president’s full-month Presidential Approval Index rating is up three points from April, giving him his best rating since February.

Daily tracking results are collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night. The monthly numbers in this article are based on approximately 15,000 interviews each month with likely voters. The margin of sampling error is less than +/- 1 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

June 1, 2012

43% Are Very Worried Federal Government Will Run Out of Cash

More Americans than ever are expressing strong concern that the federal government will run out of money, even though they believe most politicians want the government to amass even more money than it has now.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 64% are at least somewhat worried that the government will run out of money, while 31% are not worried. These findings include 43% who are Very Worried about this possibility and 10% who are Not At All Worried. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter  or Facebook .

The national survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on May 29-30, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC . See methodology.

White letter R on blue background
June 1, 2012

Partisan Trends: Republicans 35.7%, Democrats 33.8%, Unaffiliateds 30.5%

The number of Democrats and Republicans in the United States increased slightly in May, with voters in President Obama’s party now at their highest level this year. During May, 35.7% of Americans considered themselves Republicans.  That’s up from 35.1% in April, the lowest level measured since November of last year.

Rasmussen Reports tracks this information based on telephone interviews with approximately 15,000 adults per month since November 2002. The margin of error for the full sample is less than one percentage point, with a 95% level of confidence.

June 1, 2012

63% Think Current System Discourages Third Party Candidates

Most voters agree that the election system is stacked against third-party candidates and think the rules should be changed to level the playing field.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 63% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the current electoral setup discourages third party challenges. Just 24% disagree and say the system is not gamed to discourage third party runs. Thirteen percent (13%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on May 30-31, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

White letter R on blue background
June 1, 2012

Why Cory Booker Got Bain Capital So Wrong By Joe Conason

Cory Booker's emotional televised plea to "stop attacking private equity" may have been the single greatest service he could perform for the Romney campaign. His immediate attempt to revise his remarks on behalf of President Obama, for whom he is supposed to act as a surrogate, only highlighted his earlier insistence that the harsh campaign criticism of Bain Capital, which he specifically defended, is "nauseating."

June 1, 2012

Team Obama Finds Romney Hard Target to Hit By Scott Rasmussen

The Obama campaign's early attempts to attack Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital or present him as too extreme to be president have not worked out all that well so far. The early stumbles have created a flurry of commentaries wondering what's wrong with the team that performed so flawlessly in Election 2008.

White letter R on blue background
May 31, 2012

50% Trust Republicans More on Economy

For the first time in five-and-a-half years of regular tracking, half of voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats when it comes to the economy, the issue they rate by far as most important to how they will vote. Voters now trust Republicans more on five of the 10 major issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports, Democrats more on two, and they're tied on three.

Two national surveys of 1,000 Likely Voters each were conducted on May 24-25 & 28-29, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

May 31, 2012

84% Think It’s Difficult For Young People To Find Summer Jobs

The unemployment rate for youths is nearly three times higher than it is among all Americans nationwide.  With summer right around the corner, adults feel it’s important for young people to find work, but they are also aware that it may not be that easy. 

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 94% of American Adults think it’s at least somewhat important for young people to have jobs during the summer when they are out of school, including 72% who view it as Very Important.  Only five percent (5%) say it’s not very or Not At All Important for these young people to work. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on May 25-26, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

May 31, 2012

15% Say Government Should Determine Pricing for Internet Use

Most Internet providers charge a flat rate to customers regardless of how long they are online or how much material they download. But the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is now proposing usage-based Internet pricing

Just 15% of Likely U.S. Voters think the government should decide whether those who use the Internet more should pay more. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 74% think individual companies that provide Internet service should be allowed to decide pricing for themselves. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls).  Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on May 28-29, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

White letter R on blue background
May 31, 2012

Obama Campaign May Be Fooling Itself By Michael Barone

"Axelrod is endeavoring not to panic." So reads a sentence in John Heilemann's exhaustive article on Barack Obama's campaign in this week's New York magazine.

White letter R on blue background
May 31, 2012

Dumb Money for Dummies By Froma Harrop

In the beginning, there was pump and dump. In the dot-com bubble of the late '90s, the stock-analyzing arms of investment banks would pump up a new stock's price with rave reviews.