polls – News Stories About polls - Page 7

Dec 15, 2008 1:27 PM CST

Obama's Halo Undimmed by Blago: Poll

Voters want more info about prez-elect's involvement in scandal

(Newser) - The Rod Blagojevich scandal has done little to dent Barack Obama’s approval ratings, according to ABC’s polling guru: More than three-quarters of those surveyed give his handling of the transition a thumbs-up. But just 51% say Obama has done enough to explain his team’s discussions with the...

5 Predictors in Georgia Runoff

ANALYSIS

Dec 2, 2008 1:31 PM CST

5 Predictors in Georgia Runoff

(Newser) - If Saxby Chambliss defeats Jim Martin in the Georgia Senate runoff today, Democratic hopes of a 60-seat majority will be dashed, Politico reports. Here are five things to look for as voters go again to the polls.

Turnout: Martin's hopes ride on higher than average black participation, which happened Nov.

...

Your Hour-by-Hour Guide
to Election Night

Nov 4, 2008 12:28 PM CST

Your Hour-by-Hour Guide to Election Night

What to watch for as the clock ticks on

(Newser) - Tonight’s election promises to end before bedtime, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be drama. Nate Silver breaks down which polls close when, and what to watch for.

6pm: Indiana and Kentucky: Usually these get called red right away, but this year Indiana is a toss-up.
7pm:

...

McCain's Chances Slimmer Than Ever: Silver

Analysis

Nov 1, 2008 10:48 AM CDT

McCain's Chances Slimmer Than Ever: Silver

But tightening Pennsylvania polls provide lone bright spot

(Newser) - John McCain is hanging by a pretty thin thread, writes statistics guru Nate Silver at fivethirtyeight.com, and that thread is Pennsylvania. Two polls show a slight narrowing in Keystone country; one shows Obama’s lead down to 10 points, while another, right-leaning poll puts it at 5. But with...

Why Is Obama in Front?
It's All About the Debates

analysis

Oct 31, 2008 10:33 AM CDT

Why Is Obama in Front? It's All About the Debates

Americans reassured by "risky" candidate's cool performance

(Newser) - To many pundits, the debates are forgotten, a thing of the past—but it’s quite possible they are the key to Barack Obama’s dominance in the polls, writes Robert G. Kaiser in the Washington Post. Before the debates, Obama was seen as a risky unknown. But having seen...

No, Matt Drudge, the
McCain Gap Isn't Closing

ANALYSIS

Oct 31, 2008 7:31 AM CDT

No, Matt Drudge, the McCain Gap Isn't Closing

FiveThirtyEight's Silver smacks down "tightening polls" narrative

(Newser) - Calm down, writes Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.com. There's no need to panic over a couple of polls, trumpeted by Drudge, showing the race tightening. “Man, I thought I trained you guys better than this,” he notes. One, the Mason-Dixon poll, shows Obama up by only 4 in...

23% of Texans Say
Obama Is Muslim

Oct 30, 2008 2:01 PM CDT

23% of Texans Say Obama Is Muslim

Fraction under mistaken impression much greater than 5-10% nationally: poll

(Newser) - Nearly a quarter of Texas voters still believe Barack Obama is a Muslim, the Houston Chronicle reports. Polling shows 23% of registered voters there buy internet-fueled rumors the Democrat is hiding his Islamic faith—compared to just 5-10% of voters nationwide. The same poll gives John McCain a comfortable lead...

Jews Favor Obama, Survey Says, But ...

Oct 30, 2008 12:40 PM CDT

Jews Favor Obama, Survey Says, But ...

... by a thinner margin than they supported fellow Dem Kerry in '04

(Newser) - Barack Obama has a big lead among Jewish voters, according to a survey by the American Jewish Committee. But his 57% support, to 30% for John McCain and 13% undecided, is “a bit lower than one would expect,” a group exec tells VOA News. At this time in...

Don't Let the Polls Dictate Your Vote: Rove

OPINION

Oct 30, 2008 8:14 AM CDT

Don't Let the Polls Dictate Your Vote: Rove

Don't let the polls dictate your vote, writes Bush's brain

(Newser) - With the explosion of polls in this presidential election—almost as many national polls this month as there were during all of 2004—there's a real risk that polls themselves will drive behavior in the voting booth, Karl Rove writes in the Wall Street Journal, urging voters not to let...

The Election's Over—Except
on Fox News

ANALYSIS

Oct 28, 2008 9:15 AM CDT

The Election's Over—Except on Fox News

Only network not dominated by polls is busy blasting Obama

(Newser) - With one week to go until the election, political coverage on TV "should probably come with a spoiler alert," writes Alessandra Stanley. With every poll predicting a major win for Barack Obama, terms like "touchdown favorite" and "near-insurmountable" have become ubiquitous on the networks. You...

Obama Up
by 8 Points
in Polls

Oct 26, 2008 6:07 AM CDT

Obama Up by 8 Points in Polls

But new Reuters poll finds lead shrinking as McCain hammers on economy

(Newser) - As John McCain's campaign appears to be foundering, Barack Obama's lead continues to grow, reports Bloomberg. The Democratic candidate was up 8 points over McCain in an average of 16 polls released during the last week. The previous week, Obama was up about 6 points. A single new poll released...

Bachmann Flap
Leads to Poll Dip

Oct 24, 2008 4:02 PM CDT

Bachmann Flap Leads to Poll Dip

Minnesota Rep. in statistical dead heat with Dem challenger after 'anti-American' gaffe

(Newser) - Republican Michele Bachmann is now trailing the Democratic challenger for her House seat, Minnesota Public Radio reports, with Elwyn Tinklenberg up 45%-43%. Bachmann’s recent comments about “anti-American” sentiment in Congress appear partly to blame; 40% of respondents said her remarks had made them less likely to vote for...

Obama Takes 10-Point Lead

Oct 21, 2008 6:08 PM CDT

Obama Takes 10-Point Lead

(Newser) - Barack Obama has opened a double-digit lead over John McCain in the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. Obama is up 52% to 42% in the poll, up 4 points from 2 weeks ago and his widest lead to date. While voters continue to view McCain as the candidate best prepared...

Early Voters Mob Fla. Polls

Oct 20, 2008 5:36 PM CDT

Early Voters Mob Fla. Polls

(Newser) - The start of early voting in Florida today brought hordes to polling places, forcing voters to contend with long lines and voting machine failures, the Miami Herald reports. Miami-Dade and Broward counties added a million registered voters each to their rolls this year. The crowds signaled the usefulness of the...

Race Didn't Defeat Bradley: He Was Too Liberal

OPINION

Oct 20, 2008 9:27 AM CDT

Race Didn't Defeat Bradley: He Was Too Liberal

And if Obama loses, it'll be for the same reason

(Newser) - If Barack Obama loses in November, the media will surely cite the Bradley Effect, the theory that voters lie to pollsters to hide racial biases. It’s named after Tom Bradley, the black mayor of Los Angeles who lost the 1982 governor’s race in California, despite huge leads in...

Robocalls Are
Legit: McCain

TALK SHOW ROUNDUP

Oct 19, 2008 1:30 PM CDT

Robocalls Are Legit: McCain

Defends use of same tactic used against him in 2000

(Newser) - John McCain defended his use of robocalls on Fox News Sunday, arguing his attacks on Barack Obama are different from the slanderous calls that targeted him during the 2000 primaries, Politico reports. “These are legitimate and truthful and they are far different than the phone calls that were made...

A Baseball Nerd Turns to
Election Stats

Oct 15, 2008 11:32 AM CDT

A Baseball Nerd Turns to Election Stats

Nate Silver was right on the Rays; he's now calling the presidency

(Newser) - Give the sheer number of political polls being produced, and the history of many of them proving wrong, it takes a seriously smart statistician (and something of a nerd) to predict the presidential race with any authority. Nate Silver, the man who "revolutionized the interpretation of baseball stats,"...

McCain's Down, But Not Out

OPINION

Oct 14, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

McCain's Down, But Not Out

History shows that McCain can surge

(Newser) - With Obama pulling well ahead of the Straight Talk Express, "the 2008 campaign seems poised to enter its Harry Truman phase," writes Walter Shapiro in Salon. But a November comeback isn’t out of the question. Shapiro runs down four factors that could push McCain into the White...

Mac's Health an Issue in Poll

Oct 9, 2008 10:16 PM CDT

Mac's Health an Issue in Poll

(Newser) - Nearly half (47%) of Americans are worried that John McCain, if elected, would not finish his first term in good health, a CNN poll shows. Nearly 20% percent of respondents thought the same about rival Barack Obama. Only 7% of those questioned said that the health of a candidate would...

Pollsters to Voters: Be Straight With Us

Oct 9, 2008 3:47 PM CDT

Pollsters to Voters: Be Straight With Us

Gay-marriage ban fails in surveys, but are respondents lying?

(Newser) - Polls indicate that a California ballot measure to ban gay marriage will fail by a substantial margin—but that might be because respondents are lying to pollsters to avoid seeming homophobic, the Sacramento Bee reports. A recent study sponsored by supporters of the measure hints that polls do understate support...