U.S. Elections & Voters

Sen. Hillary Clinton would not have won primaries in the nation's two largest states--California and Texas--if Latinos had not turned out in such large numbers and if they had not voted so heavily in her favor, according to an analysis of exit polling data.

This report examines the turnout, demographic characteristics, opinions and voting patterns of the Hispanic electorate in Democratic primaries and caucuses held so far in 2008.

While Sen. John McCain clinched the GOP nomination with recent victories in the March 4 primaries, the Democratic contest between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama remains deadlocked. Pew Forum Senior Fellow John Green discusses how the candidates fared among religious voters on March 4, the role that religious and unaffiliated voters could play […]

Summary of Findings As is often the case, voters say they would like to see more coverage of the candidates’ positions on the issues and less coverage of which candidate is leading in the latest polls. More than three-quarters of the public (78%) would like to see more coverage of the candidates’ positions on domestic […]

This week's primaries show that, results in Wisconsin aside, pre-primary polls may either over- or underestimate support for Obama depending on state racial demographics.

If they turn out to be their party's nominees, both Barack Obama and John McCain need to educate voters about themselves in some pretty basic, and challenging, ways.

Summary of Findings Barack Obama is riding high as the March 4 primaries approach. Obama has moved out to a broad-based advantage over Hillary Clinton in the national Democratic primary contest and holds a 50%-43% lead over John McCain in a general election matchup. However, the survey results point to several potential hazards for Obama. […]

Summary of Findings An overwhelming majority of Americans (81%) are aware of news reports that John McCain may have had an improper relationship with a female lobbyist several years ago. About half (48%) of the public has heard a lot about this story, which first appeared in the New York Times late last week. Another […]

John McCain's age has remained notably absent as a campaign issue, but earlier polling data suggest it could become a big issue for the Arizona senator come November.