Students prefer Obama in general election
Economy surpasses wars as most important issue
Sam Guzik
Issue date: 3/26/08 Section: News
Despite national trends to the contrary, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois remains popular among the Washington University undergraduate body and would win the majority of student support if the election were held today, according to a poll conducted by Student Life.
If Obama were the Democratic nominee, he would win 78 percent of the undergraduate vote, defeating Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who would receive only 19 percent of the vote; all other candidates received negligible support.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York would also win a majority of the undergraduate vote as the Democratic nominee; however, McCain would fare better in that race, winning 29 percent of the vote compared to Clinton's 61 percent.
The trends among student voters break with recent national data showing McCain defeating both Obama and Clinton by six and eight percent, respectively, in the most recent Reuters/Zogby poll, released on March 20.
Since the last Student Life poll in February, students have grown more concerned about the economy, with almost 26 percent identifying "the economy and globalization" as the most important issue this election season, reflecting the recent turbulence on Wall Street.
"The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan" was the second most frequently cited important issue, identified by almost 21 percent of undergraduates, and "the environment, global climate change, and energy policy" was the third most frequently cited issue, identified by 12 percent of students.
In January, "the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan" was identified as the most pressing issue facing the nation, beating out the economy by almost seven percentage points.
Across the board, Obama was seen as the best choice to handle the issues facing the country; he performed better, however, on traditionally liberal issues like improving education and improving healthcare quality and access.
Obama performed weaker regarding economy, with a margin of 38 percent of students identifying the Illinois senator as the best choice to address that issue, compared with 26 percent for McCain and 17 percent for Clinton.
A plurality of students also believes that the Democratic presidential nomination race has not gone on for too long. Thirty-five percent felt that whichever candidate has the most pledged delegates at the end of the primary season should be the nominee, while 33 percent felt that the race should continue until a clear winner emerged-even if that occurred on the convention floor.
Among independents and those who do not affiliate with a party, Obama still enjoys a considerable-though smaller-lead over McCain. Clinton and McCain divide the often sought bloc of independent voters nearly equally.
In a Clinton-McCain race, independent candidate Ralph Nader would register four percent of the vote. Almost 80 percent of those voting for Nader over Clinton would have chosen Obama if he had been the nominee.
Nader's impact on undergraduate voting was negligible in a head-to-head contest between Obama and McCain.
Clinton held considerably more sway among female voters, winning 73 percent of the female vote in a race with McCain; among male voters in the same race, Senator Clinton won just under 49 percent of the vote.
Of those students registered and eligible to vote and living in states that have already held primaries or caucuses, 58 percent participated in the nominating contests.
The most recent Student Life poll data were collected through an e-mail sent to the undergraduate student population between March 22 and March 24. There were 975 responses to the poll, allowing for a theoretical margin of error of 2.88 percent.
If Obama were the Democratic nominee, he would win 78 percent of the undergraduate vote, defeating Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who would receive only 19 percent of the vote; all other candidates received negligible support.
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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York would also win a majority of the undergraduate vote as the Democratic nominee; however, McCain would fare better in that race, winning 29 percent of the vote compared to Clinton's 61 percent.
The trends among student voters break with recent national data showing McCain defeating both Obama and Clinton by six and eight percent, respectively, in the most recent Reuters/Zogby poll, released on March 20.
Since the last Student Life poll in February, students have grown more concerned about the economy, with almost 26 percent identifying "the economy and globalization" as the most important issue this election season, reflecting the recent turbulence on Wall Street.
"The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan" was the second most frequently cited important issue, identified by almost 21 percent of undergraduates, and "the environment, global climate change, and energy policy" was the third most frequently cited issue, identified by 12 percent of students.
 |
In January, "the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan" was identified as the most pressing issue facing the nation, beating out the economy by almost seven percentage points.
Across the board, Obama was seen as the best choice to handle the issues facing the country; he performed better, however, on traditionally liberal issues like improving education and improving healthcare quality and access.
Obama performed weaker regarding economy, with a margin of 38 percent of students identifying the Illinois senator as the best choice to address that issue, compared with 26 percent for McCain and 17 percent for Clinton.
A plurality of students also believes that the Democratic presidential nomination race has not gone on for too long. Thirty-five percent felt that whichever candidate has the most pledged delegates at the end of the primary season should be the nominee, while 33 percent felt that the race should continue until a clear winner emerged-even if that occurred on the convention floor.
Among independents and those who do not affiliate with a party, Obama still enjoys a considerable-though smaller-lead over McCain. Clinton and McCain divide the often sought bloc of independent voters nearly equally.
In a Clinton-McCain race, independent candidate Ralph Nader would register four percent of the vote. Almost 80 percent of those voting for Nader over Clinton would have chosen Obama if he had been the nominee.
Nader's impact on undergraduate voting was negligible in a head-to-head contest between Obama and McCain.
Clinton held considerably more sway among female voters, winning 73 percent of the female vote in a race with McCain; among male voters in the same race, Senator Clinton won just under 49 percent of the vote.
Of those students registered and eligible to vote and living in states that have already held primaries or caucuses, 58 percent participated in the nominating contests.
The most recent Student Life poll data were collected through an e-mail sent to the undergraduate student population between March 22 and March 24. There were 975 responses to the poll, allowing for a theoretical margin of error of 2.88 percent.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
SuzieQ
posted 3/26/08 @ 9:46 AM CST
Obama has nothing to offer except suppressed rage. He is unfit. His only attraction is the ability to whip people into fawning idol worship. He is laughing at the useful idiots. (Continued…)
GravelKucinichPaulNader
posted 3/27/08 @ 8:27 AM CST
DNC/RNC have exposed themselves.
Clintons v McCain = Clintons.
Dynasties & Coronations.
Not this time -
not even as VP...
gravel kucinich paul nader
cynthia mckinney too
dare speak truth
demand peace
WU 81
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