Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Politics

  • report

    Slight Bush Margin Holding with Days To Go

    Introduction and Summary George W. Bush continues to hold a slim edge over Al Gore in the final days of Campaign 2000. A Pew Research Center poll of 1,307 likely voters conducted November 1-4 finds 46% favoring Bush, 43% Gore, with 3% for Ralph Nader and 1% for Pat Buchanan. These results are almost identical […]

  • report

    Bush Gains on Personal Qualities

    Introduction and Summary With less than a week to go before the presidential election, George W. Bush’s advantage with the voters on personal qualities is now trumping Al Gore’s edge on the issues. A steadily growing plurality has come to see the GOP candidate as more likable, more honest, more able to get things done, […]

  • report

    Attentive Swing Voters Lean Toward Gore; Inattentive Voters Are Split

    As the presidential campaign moves into the home stretch, two distinctly different groups of swing voters may well determine the outcome. Attentive swing voters — those who have followed the campaign relatively closely and are just as likely to vote as those who have made up their minds — currently favor Al Gore and strongly […]

  • report

    Voter Opinions Stalled

    Introduction and Summary With two weeks to go until Election Day, voters still can’t choose between Al Gore and George W. Bush. The perceived strengths and weaknesses of both candidates continue to drive voter indecision. People have a better opinion of the Texas governor personally than they had in September, prior to the debates. At […]

  • report

    The Empty Center of Campaign 2000

    If you are expecting to soon find out what the election will turn on now that the debates are over, you’re going to be disappointed. In fact, you may be puzzled about the whys of the outcome even after we know the winner of campaign 2000. This is a very different kind of election. Not […]

  • report

    Media Seen As Fair, But Tilting to Gore

    Introduction and Summary Voters generally believe the media has been fair to both major presidential candidates, but more say the press has been fair to Al Gore than to George W. Bush. Fully 74% of voters say the vice president has gotten fair press treatment, while 65% say the same about Bush. Nearly six-in-ten voters […]

  • report

    Presidential Debate Clouds Voters’ Choice

    Introduction and Summary Al Gore’s personality may be costing him votes. Although a plurality of voters believe he won the first presidential debate, he has lost his small September lead over George W. Bush. As the race has narrowed, an increasing number of voters who oppose the vice president say they dislike his personality. On […]

  • report

    Religion and Politics: the Ambivalent Majority

    Religion and Politics: The Ambivalent Majority Americans embrace a role for religion in the nation’s political life, but they are conflicted over the extent and contours of that involvement. Compared to a generation ago, more people are comfortable with churches expressing opinions on social and political matters, yet a solid majority of voters say they […]

  • report

    Issues and Continuity Now Working for Gore

    Introduction and Summary With voters focusing more on the issues than on personal evaluations of the candidates and continuity factors increasingly favoring the Democrats, Al Gore holds a small but significant lead over George W. Bush. A survey of nearly 2,000 registered voters, conducted Aug. 24 – Sept. 10, finds Gore leading Bush by a […]

  • report

    Voters Unmoved By Media Characterizations of Bush and Gore

    Introduction and Summary American voters, who continue to divide their support equally between Al Gore and George W. Bush, have not been strongly influenced by the way the American news media have covered the personal character of the presidential candidates. As the conventions approach there is ample opportunity for the campaigns to make powerful appeals […]