Election 2008

Eight candidates for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president squared off Sunday night in New Hampshire. Here is a run-down of how their views on key issues stacked up against the attitudes of the general public and of self-identified Democrats, Republicans and independents.

Giuliani Generating the Most Enthusiasm Where do white, non-Hispanic Catholics stand with regard to the announced and potential Republican presidential candidates? A June survey from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press sheds light on this question at this stage of the campaign by measuring name recognition and likelihood of support at […]

Summary of Findings Former Sen. Fred Thompson has broad potential appeal among Republican voters even before his expected entrance into the presidential race. Thompson is not nearly as well known as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani or the other leading GOP candidates. But 37% of the Republican and Republican-leaning voters who have heard […]

Summary of Findings At this early stage of the 2008 campaign, about half of the public believes that press coverage of the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates has been fair. But there are sizable partisan differences in evaluations of campaign coverage. Notably, a plurality of Republicans believes the press has gone too easy on Democratic […]

A review of recent polling reveals that on most -- though not all issues -- the candidates are in tune with the majority of Republicans, but somewhat at odds with the broader public.

by Robert Ruby, Senior Editor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life In Mitt Romney’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, one key issue is his Mormon faith. Surveys by the Pew Research Center and other national polling organizations show strong public misgivings about the religion as well as about any presidential candidate who also […]

Key West, Florida Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in May 2007 for the Pew Forum’s biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Richard Bushman, an emeritus professor at Columbia University and author of several books about Mormon history, discussed the relationship between The Church of Jesus […]

Heading into their first debate Thursday evening, what Republican candidates for the presidency need most is to gain visibility. The latest News Interest Index survey finds Clinton and Obama are far more visible, even to Republicans.

Indicators of voter sentiment suggest most of the public wants change and may likely vote Democratic next year. Are aspirants for the GOP nomination wasting their time? Don't be too sure.

Summary of Findings With battle lines drawn over legislation funding the Iraq war, the public is showing little appetite for compromise. Overall, a solid majority of Americans (59%) continue to say they want their representative to support a bill calling for a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq by August 2008, while just a third want […]