Changing Partisan Coalitions in a Politically Divided Nation
Amid shifts in demographics and partisan allegiances, registered voters are now evenly split between the Democratic Party and the GOP.
Amid shifts in demographics and partisan allegiances, registered voters are now evenly split between the Democratic Party and the GOP.
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Introduction and Summary Even though Americans say that issues matter most, candidates’ personal qualities may be decisive in a campaign without dominant issues. Voters make fine distinctions, however, about what they want to know about candidates personally. Americans strongly reject press inquiry into most avenues of candidates’ private lives, yet at the same time place […]
Introduction and Summary Americans are showing signs of disaffection with a presidential campaign that is just beginning. The public thinks the press and large campaign contributors are having too much influence on who gets nominated, and a 60% majority thinks voters themselves have too little say. The latest Pew Research Center survey, conducted on the […]
A stream of candidate announcements and polls showing Texas Governor George W. Bush leading Vice President Al Gore have spurred interest in the 2000 presidential contest. But with the nominating conventions still more than 16 months away, what do these early polls mean for would-be nominees? A look back at nearly 40 years of early […]
Introduction and Summary The Internet audience is not only growing, it is getting decidedly mainstream. Two years ago, when just 23% of Americans were going online, stories about technology were the top news draw. Today, with 41% of adults using the Internet, the weather is the most popular online news attraction. Increasingly people without college […]
Introduction and Summary In the wake of the congressional elections earlier this month, President Clinton’s job approval ratings inched upward, sentiment for impeachment remained low, and by almost a two-to-one margin Americans said that Clinton — not the Republican leaders in Congress — should now take the lead in solving the nation’s problems. This is […]
The Clinton-Lewinsky scandal was not a direct factor in the election outcome: As many people voted for Clinton as against him, according to exit polls. But a perception of Republican preoccupation with the inquiry — epitomized by scandal ads targeted against Democrats in key House races last week — may have fueled the late Democratic […]
Introduction and Summary Political consultants have clear consciences: Most do not think campaign practices that suppress turnout, use scare tactics and take facts out of context are unethical. They are nearly unanimous — 97% — in the belief that negative advertising is not wrong, and few blame themselves for public disillusionment with the political process. […]
Survey Findings Bill Clinton’s lead over Bob Dole and Ross Perot remains as wide and deep at the end of the final week of the campaign as it has been for the past two months, despite the growing controversy about Democratic campaign finance irregularities. The Pew Research Center’s final survey of 1,211 likely voters, taken […]
As the 1996 election campaign draws to an end, Bob Dole rates as one of the least appealing major party presidential candidates of almost four decades, according to an analysis of favorability ratings by Larry Hugick, director of political surveys at Princeton Survey Research Associates. He ranks 19th out of 20 candidates since 1960. Bill […]
Introduction and Summary Bill Clinton continues to hold a commanding lead over Bob Dole and Ross Perot, but it is not because voters are delighted with his record, or because the electorate is euphoric about economic conditions, or because people expect better things to come. American voters are modest in their enthusiasm for Bill Clinton, […]
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