Mormonism in the 2012 Election
A new slideshow highlights recent Pew Research Center data on voters’ views of the Mormon religion and Mormons’ opinions on their place in society.
Romney in a Word: ’Honest,’ ’Businessman,’ ’Rich’
As the American public has learned more about Mitt Romney over the course of the past year, his image has changed substantially. Last fall, the one word that came to mind most frequently when people were asked to describe Romney was Mormon. The same question this spring elicited the words rich and no more frequently […]
Paul Ryan in a Word: ’Conservative,’ ’Intelligent’
As Paul Ryan prepares to accept his nomination as the GOP’s vice presidential candidate, the American public has a mixed impression of him. When asked what one word comes to mind when thinking about Ryan, the most frequent responses are conservative, intelligent, good, unknown, and young. In the latest national survey by the Pew Research […]
More Interest in GOP Platform than Romney’s Speech
Overview As the Republican convention gets underway, more Americans express interest in learning about what’s in the GOP platform than in the speeches by either Mitt Romney or his running mate. About half of the public (52%) is interested in learning about the Republican Party’s platform, while 44% are interested in Romney’s acceptance speech and […]
Independents Give Low Ratings to Ryan, But Are More Negative on Biden
A plurality of independents (42%) rate Mitt Romney’s choice of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate “only fair” or “poor,” but even more rate Joe Biden’s performance negatively.
A Closer Look at the Parties in 2012
As the 2012 party conventions approach, the Democratic Party continues to maintain an advantage in party identification among voters, but its lead is much smaller than it was in 2008. In more than 13,000 interviews conducted so far in 2012, 35% of registered voters identify with the Democratic Party, 28% with the Republican Party and […]
The Master Character Narratives in Campaign 2012
On the eve of the conventions, the portrayal in the news media of the character and records of the two presidential contenders in 2012 has been as negative as any campaign in recent times, and neither candidate has enjoyed any advantage over the other.
Medicare Voucher Plan Remains Unpopular
Overview Paul Ryan’s selection to the Republican ticket has put the issue of Medicare squarely on the 2012 campaign agenda. And the latest Pew Research Center survey continues to find the public is aware of a proposal to gradually shift Medicare to a system of vouchers and is, on balance, more opposed than supportive of […]
How the Presidential Candidates Use the Web and Social Media
On the eve of the conventions, Barack Obama holds a distinct advantage over Mitt Romney in the way his campaign is using digital technology to communicate directly with voters. The Obama campaign is posting almost four times as much content and is active on nearly twice as many platforms, according to a new study analyzing the content and volume of candidate communications on their websites and social media channels.
What Voters Know about Campaign 2012
Overview Before you read the report, test your own News IQ by taking the interactive knowledge quiz. The short quiz includes many of the questions that were included in a national poll. Participants will instantly learn how they did on the quiz in comparison with the voting public as well as with people like them. […]
