Archive: Post Polls
The Congressional Approval Limbo
How low can it go? Just 23 percent in the new Washington Post-ABC News poll approve of the job the nation's legislative body has done. More than seven in 10 disapprove. Overall, this is the worst assessment in Post-ABC polling since just before the Republicans took control in 1994. Neither...
By Jennifer Agiesta | July 15, 2008; 07:10 PM ET | Comments (5)
New Low for Bush Approval
Another month, another new low for George W. Bush: Just 28 percent in the new Post-ABC poll approve of the way the president is handling his job. This marks a new career low in Post polling, and is the 40th consecutive month his ratings have been under 50 percent. His...
By Jon Cohen | July 15, 2008; 10:25 AM ET | Comments (98)
Feeling Their Finances
Americans may be pretty down about the state of the nation's economy, but a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds their assessment of their own finances to be substantially less dire: More than six in 10 now say they feel at least somewhat financially secure, even as many have anxiety...
By Jennifer Agiesta | July 15, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (11)
New Poll Highlights: The War on the War
The new Washington Post-ABC News poll suggests that even with broad public doubts about the nation's success so far in Iraq and Afghanistan, managing the nation's military could be one of Barack Obama's main hurdles in the race for the White House. Two groups stand out in the crosstabs from...
By Jennifer Agiesta | July 14, 2008; 05:48 PM ET | Comments (16)
The Flip-flopping Flap
The flap over Barack Obama's recent public statements about his policy positions on Iraq and the FISA bill have led many to wonder whether the Illinois senator will be able to hold on to liberal Democrats he won over in the primaries while also wooing the independents and moderates who...
By Jennifer Agiesta | July 10, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (36)
Navigating the Playing Field on Immigration
Sen. John McCain's trip to Latin America this week--his third foreign trip since clinching the Republican nomination--has brought immigration back to the forefront of the presidential campaign. As McCain hits Mexico City today and both candidates step up their efforts to reach out to Hispanic voters, a number of surveys...
By Jennifer Agiesta | July 3, 2008; 02:07 PM ET | Comments (83)
McCain Courts Public Opinion
Sen. John McCain took up the cause of conservative judges this morning, announcing at a meeting of the National Sherriff's Association that if elected, he would appoint justices who mirror the views of Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia. His attention to the issue is...
By Jennifer Agiesta | July 1, 2008; 02:39 PM ET | Comments (3)
SCOTUS: DC Gun Law
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today overturned a 32-year-old District of Columbia law limiting private gun ownership, for the first time expressly extending the Constitution's Second Amendment to private citizens. That ruling is also a split decision with respect to where the public stands on these issues....
By Jon Cohen | June 26, 2008; 10:49 AM ET | Comments (35)
Heating Up on Energy
As the debate over energy and environmentalism between John McCain and Barack Obama gets hotter than a D.C. afternoon in August, recent polling on the issue shows the public broadly prefers Obama to handle related issues, but both have proposed policies that appear to garner widespread support. In the latest...
By Jennifer Agiesta | June 24, 2008; 06:17 PM ET | Comments (1)
Post-Primary Views of Clinton
In the first Washington Post-ABC News poll since she ended her presidential bid, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's favorability ratings have rebounded after reaching a campaign low-point in April. After dipping toward the end of the long Democratic nomination battle, Clinton's favorability rating is once again in positive territory: 54 percent...
By Jennifer Agiesta | June 20, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (68)
The Better Halves
As Americans wade through the glut of information about the presumptive presidential nominees of each party, they also get to know the candidates' better halves. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows both Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama hold net positive favorable ratings, but many have yet to form opinions...
By Jennifer Agiesta | June 18, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (97)
About Those Independents...
The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll hints that the 2008 presidential election could mark the year independents reclaim their status as a swing group. After Karl Rove's 2004 strategy attempted to circumvent independents by focusing on the GOP base, independents appear to be back in the driver's seat. In this...
By Jennifer Agiesta | June 17, 2008; 03:30 PM ET | Comments (1)
SCOTUS Gitmo Ruling
Most Americans oppose last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba should be able to challenge their incarcerations in the civilian court system. In the new Washington Post-ABC News poll, 61 percent said non-citizens suspected of terrorism should not have these rights under the U.S. Constitution;...
By Jon Cohen | June 17, 2008; 12:19 PM ET | Comments (14)
McCain vs. Obama on Personal Attributes
Six months before the general election, public perceptions of the relative strengths and weaknesses of presumptive Republican nominee John McCain and Democratic front-runner Barack Obama are relatively static, though recent shifts on leadership, empathy and personal ethics hint at the battles to come. The two months of campaigning in the...
By Jennifer Agiesta | May 14, 2008; 05:21 PM ET | Comments (14)
A Democratic Edge on Top Issues
The economy and the situation in Iraq have long been the public's top two priorities for this year's presidential election, and on both, more Americans said they think a Democratic president would do a better job handling the issue than a Republican. By nearly 20-point margins, Americans would choose an...
By Jennifer Agiesta | April 25, 2008; 01:44 PM ET | Comments (14)
Unfavorables on the Rise
As the 2008 presidential nomination battle makes its final stop in the Northeast today, opinions about the major players in the race have begun to head south. As the Post has noted, the percentage rating each of the three presidential candidates unfavorably has climbed since voting began in January according...
By Jennifer Agiesta | April 22, 2008; 10:24 AM ET | Comments (44)
McCain's Temperament
Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain's temperament came under close scrutiny in Michael Leahy's big piece in yesterday's paper, and his disposition may be a factor in the November election. Nearly half of voters in the new Post-ABC poll believe his temperament would hamper the Arizona senator in the White House....
By Jon Cohen | April 21, 2008; 10:13 AM ET | Comments (29)
White Catholics on 2008
Pope Benedict XVI did not expect to fly into an America still captivated by a heated election, but his arrival in Washington comes just a week before a crucial Democratic primary and amid increasingly heated general election rhetoric. Catholics make up about a quarter of all voters in the United...
By Jennifer Agiesta | April 16, 2008; 11:16 AM ET | Comments (15)
Iraq: Public Opinion Five Years In
Five years after the start of the Iraq war, American public opinion has solidified around the notion that the war was not worth fighting and that the United States is not making significant progress toward restoring civil order there. For more than three years, majorities in Washington Post-ABC News polling...
By Jennifer Agiesta | March 19, 2008; 12:02 PM ET | Comments (76)
SCOTUS: 2nd Amendment
As the Supreme Court takes up an historic guns case, a new Washington Post poll shows nearly three-quarters of Americans believe the 2nd amendment extends to individuals, that gun rights are not limited to "militias." A thornier question, however, is how this privilege stacks up with governmental interest in controlling...
By Jon Cohen | March 18, 2008; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
Toe to Toe on Issues and Attributes
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds each of the two contenders for the Democratic nomination for president holding an edge over presumptive Republican nominee John McCain if the general election were held today. And digging deeper on a contest between McCain and the Democrats' delegate leader, Barack Obama,...
By Jennifer Agiesta | March 5, 2008; 06:03 PM ET | Comments (16)
Veepstakes
With the Democratic race for the nomination forging ahead and Mike Huckabee attempting to keep the Republican race alive, Behind the Numbers looks ahead to the next big moment in the presidential race: the veepstakes. The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll asked Democrats and Republicans whom they would most like...
By Jennifer Agiesta | March 4, 2008; 04:56 PM ET | Comments (9)
Should Clinton Fight On?
Conventional wisdom says Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's gaping deficit in the delegate race has led to a set of make or break primaries in Texas and Ohio today, but does the public agree? A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that should she win one of these two states, 67...
By Jennifer Agiesta | March 3, 2008; 07:59 PM ET | Comments (132)
Satisfying the Democratic Electorate
They try, and they try, but can Democratic voters get any satisfaction? More than seven in 10 likely voters in the Ohio and Texas Democratic primaries said they'd be satisfied with each of the remaining candidates as the party's nominee, according to new Washington Post-ABC News state polls. About four...
By Jennifer Agiesta | February 22, 2008; 01:54 PM ET | Comments (126)
March Madness
With the Democratic presidential nomination fight barreling towards March 4, two new surveys out today from the Washington Post and ABC News show an extremely close contest in Texas and a narrow Clinton edge in Ohio. Barack Obama resoundingly defeated Clinton in Maryland, Virginia and Wisconsin by cutting into her...
By Jennifer Agiesta | February 21, 2008; 05:12 PM ET | Comments (8)
Which 'Super' Do You Choose?
It's the motherlode of presidential primaries vs. the perfect season this week, and neither is a clear winner in the hearts of Americans according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll out today. About four in 10 adults said they are more excited about the Super Bowl, while nearly the...
By Jennifer Agiesta | January 31, 2008; 11:30 PM ET | Comments (12)
The Economic Primaries
Just how do the presidential contenders stack up on the economy, the election's top concern? The picture is clearer on the Democratic side, where Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton had the edge as the candidate best able to handle the economy in the most recent Post-ABC poll. And as it is...
By Jennifer Agiesta | January 23, 2008; 12:47 PM ET | Comments (3)
Change I Am
It's hardly surprising that "change" is the election's "it" word. After all, more than three-quarters of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction and two-thirds feel "strongly" that the next president should not follow George W. Bush's lead. But just what does "change" mean? The latest Post-ABC...
By Jon Cohen | January 17, 2008; 04:49 PM ET | Email a Comment
New Year, New Low for Bush
George W. Bush's approval rating has hit a new low-point in Post-ABC polling. In the newly released poll, just 32 percent approve of the way President Bush is handling his job. The summary rating had been stuck at 33 percent from July to December. The president has not enjoyed an...
By Jon Cohen | January 15, 2008; 05:00 AM ET | Comments (33)
Race, Sex and the Battle for the Democratic Nod
Race and gender are this week's central flash-points in the race for the Democratic nomination. Here are some data from the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll to add to the mix. Clinton's advantages in national polling, which basically evaporated in the new poll, relied on overwhelming support among women. Now,...
By Jennifer Agiesta | January 14, 2008; 04:38 PM ET | Comments (21)
Out on a High Note
Joe Gibbs's tenure with the Redskins has, once again, come to an end, and a new Washington Post poll shows his replacement will have very popular shoes to fill. About six in 10 D.C. adults have a favorable opinion of Gibbs, just 10 percent unfavorable. And in a surprising result...
By Jennifer Agiesta | January 13, 2008; 06:23 PM ET | Email a Comment
About those Democratic pre-election polls
Yesterday's Democratic result is sure to fuel debate among poll-watchers about the accuracy of polls in contests with African American candidates. In several well-known, but long-ago examples, pre-election polls underestimated support for the white candidates in such campaigns. But in the 2006 elections, a strong showing by polls in elections...
By Jon Cohen | January 9, 2008; 12:51 AM ET | Comments (4)
Iowa's Cutting Issues
The new Washington Post-ABC News polls of likely Iowa caucus-goers (Democrats here, Republicans here) found deadlocked contests for the presidential nominations in both parties. But beneath the tight competitions, Democratic and Republican voters' priorities and ranking of top issues could hardly be more different. Among likely Democratic caucus-goers, a preference...
By Jennifer Agiesta | November 30, 2007; 01:00 PM ET | Comments (24)
Shaking Hands, Kissing Babies
Add Purell to the list of campaign essentials in Iowa. A third of likely Democratic caucus-goers said they'd had a conversation with or shaken the hand of one of the Democratic candidates for President according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News Iowa poll. And the candidate who's had the most...
By Jennifer Agiesta | November 21, 2007; 10:05 AM ET | Comments (7)
Black Democrats: A Gender Gap
An interesting trend has emerged as Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) has solidified her lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Previous divisions -- by race and by gender -- in Clinton's support seem to be narrowing. Overall, men and women both give Clinton a wide advantage over Sen....
By Jennifer Agiesta | November 13, 2007; 04:09 PM ET | Comments (14)
Democrats on Democrats
President Bush is far from the sole object of Americans' disapproval. In the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, the approval rating of the U.S. Congress has dipped to 28 percent, below President Bush's current, career-low, mark of 33. And neither party's members of Congress fare much better. Just 32 percent...
By Jennifer Agiesta | November 7, 2007; 04:06 PM ET | Comments (13)
Most Want Troop Draw-Down
Six in 10 Americans, a new high, want to decrease the number of U.S. forces in Iraq, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll out this morning. Majorities have wanted to decrease troop levels since late 2005, but this is the first time 60 percent have advocated a draw-down. At...
By Jon Cohen | November 5, 2007; 10:35 AM ET | Comments (3)
Virginia Goes to the Polls, BTN Takes to the Airwaves
As Virginia voters prepare to head to the polls Tuesday for one of the nation's few odd-year statewide elections, a Washington Post poll shows a divided political landscape: one more favorable to Democrats than any since they lost control of the statehouse in 1999. Half of likely voters in Virginia...
By Jennifer Agiesta | November 1, 2007; 06:55 PM ET | Comments (1)
On the Road in Virginia
Nearly a third of Virginians say that traffic and transportation is one of the state's top two issues, and nearly the same number say that traffic in their part of the state has gotten worse in the last five years, according to the latest Washington Post poll. Not surprisingly, perceptions...
By Jennifer Agiesta | October 22, 2007; 05:30 PM ET | Comments (2)
Public Opinion from the Republican Wing
Former Masschusetts governor Mitt Romney last Friday told reporters he spoke for "the Republican wing of the Republican party," echoing a line made famous by Democrats Howard Dean and Paul Wellstone. The quip prompted an uproar among his competitors for the Republican nomination. But the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll...
By Jennifer Agiesta | October 17, 2007; 05:35 PM ET | Comments (7)
The Female Factor
Sen. Hillary Clinton's national lead surged last week in both Post-ABC and AP polling, solidifying her position as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. Her sizable advantage raises the prospect of a woman's heading a major party presidential ticket for the first time. Is the potential to make history having...
By Jennifer Agiesta | October 8, 2007; 02:30 PM ET | Comments (21)
Edwards's Outreach
Former senator John Edwards may be banking on the support of the rural, southern, white and male wings of the Democratic Party, but in none of these demographics does Edwards have an advantage over Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Overall in the most recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, he trails...
By Jennifer Agiesta | September 12, 2007; 06:14 PM ET | Comments (17)
Virginia's Two Warners
Senator John Warner's announcement that he will not seek a sixth term in office virtually cements Virginia's status as a 2008 battleground state. The race to fill Sen. Warner's seat is likely to be one of the hottest in the nation. With Virginia more favorable towards Democrats than it has...
By Jennifer Agiesta | September 4, 2007; 05:36 PM ET | Comments (12)
Iraqi Progress and the American Public
A forthcoming Government Accountability Office report showing that the Iraqi government has made little progress on 18 military and political objectives set forth by Congress could prompt calls for the U.S. to temper its support for the fledgling democracy. According to the July Washington Post-ABC News poll, 67 percent would...
By Jennifer Agiesta | August 30, 2007; 02:05 PM ET | Comments (4)
The Power of the Party's List
Presidential candidates have been known to do many uniquely-Iowa things in hopes of a strong showing in the state's first-in-the-nation caucuses. Visiting the Iowa State Fair's butter cow and dropping in on the ice cream capital of the world are two traditional musts. So is paying up to $100,00 for...
By Jennifer Agiesta | August 7, 2007; 11:35 AM ET | Email a Comment
Surveillance Cameras: Fighting Crime or Invading Privacy?
Are surveillance cameras in public places a helpful tool in solving crimes or are they a modern day Big Brother? Most Americans take the more benign view. Seven in 10 respondents in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll said they support the increased use of surveillance cameras as a way...
By Jennifer Agiesta | July 31, 2007; 12:19 PM ET | Comments (32)
As Congress Goes, So Goes Clinton?
With two sitting senators atop the field of Democratic presidential candidates, what impact will Democrats' souring views on Congress have on the primary contest? The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll hints that it could change the dynamics of the race. Among Democrats who approve of the way the Democrats are...
By Jennifer Agiesta | July 27, 2007; 08:14 AM ET | Comments (16)
Approval Highs and Lows
President Bush's job approval has tied its low mark in Washington Post-ABC News polling. Few other presidents have experienced such negative ratings since 1938 and only one has been so consistently on the negative side. But none reached the peak Bush hit one month after 9/11. For more on Bush,...
By Jennifer Agiesta | July 24, 2007; 09:26 AM ET | Comments (9)
Debate Prep
The eight candidates for the Democratic nomination for president are getting ready for tonight's debate in Charleston, S.C., but are people preparing to watch? A Washington Post-ABC News poll released today shows that only 31 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have tuned in to any of the televised candidate...
By Jennifer Agiesta | July 23, 2007; 09:21 AM ET | Email a Comment
Sizing Up the YouTube Vote
Less than a year after Senator George Allen was arguably unseated by a grainy online video, campaigns, activist groups and amateur pundits are flooding Web sites from YouTube to Facebook with political content in the run up to the 2008 presidential election. This new world of viral video and social...
By Jennifer Agiesta | July 19, 2007; 06:26 PM ET | Email a Comment
AG "No Confidence:" Public Perspective
Senate Democrats plan a "no confidence" vote today on U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, hoping to apply additional pressure on President Bush to make a change at the helm of the Justice Department. And what does the public think? By a wide margin the public disapproves of how Gonzales has...
By Jon Cohen | June 11, 2007; 10:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
Ideology and Support for Stem Cells
After Thursday's 247 to 176 vote in the House, both chambers of Congress have now passed legislation aimed at loosening federal funding restrictions on stem cell research. President Bush has said that he will veto this bill, as he has two prior attempts to ease funding restrictions. In this case,...
By Jennifer Agiesta | June 8, 2007; 04:49 PM ET | Email a Comment
Segmenting the Republican Electorate
In advance of Tuesday night's GOP debate, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani appears comfortably perched atop the field of Republicans running for president with a double-digit lead. But how solid is his advantage? In the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, 34 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said...
By Jennifer Agiesta | June 4, 2007; 07:00 PM ET | Comments (5)
In Their Own Words: The First GOP Debate
Thursday night's nationally televised GOP presidential debate gave many Americans their first look at the full field of declared candidates, and for candidates languishing in polls such events might be their key out of the basement. In the most recent Post-ABC News poll, those more tuned into the '08 race...
By Jennifer Agiesta | May 4, 2007; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (34)
What's in a Word? Amnesty
In Thursday night's Democratic debate - the first of this election cycle - one of the moderators read a question from a viewer in Oregon: "Senator Clinton, if you were currently the president, would you defy the majority of American citizens and offer a form of amnesty for illegal aliens?"...
By Jennifer Agiesta | April 30, 2007; 03:21 PM ET | Comments (31)
Earth Day at 37
As the 37th annual observance of Earth Day approaches, just three percent of Americans say the natural environment in the world today is in "excellent" shape. An additional 20 percent say it is in "good" shape, and 41 percent say it is in just "fair" shape. About a third rate...
By Jennifer Agiesta | April 20, 2007; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
2008: Attention High, Awareness Low
Months before the first votes are cast, two-thirds of Americans say they are paying close attention to the race for the White House, but few have yet learned much about the candidates' positions on the issues, according to the new Washington Post-ABC News poll . Fred Thompson, who is considering...
By Jennifer Agiesta | April 19, 2007; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (8)
In Their Own Words: Independents and War
Political independents have continued to support congressional Democrats even as they have pursued increasingly aggressive strategies to remove troops from Iraq. By a 57 percent to 31 percent margin, independents trust Democrats in Congress to handle the issue of Iraq over President Bush, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News...
By Jon Cohen | April 18, 2007; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Democrats at 100 Days
The public's initial rating of the new Democratic majority in Congress is positive, but assessments on their handling of specific issues are generally lower and few think they have accomplished much in their first 100 days in power. Overall, 54 percent in the new Washington Post-ABC News poll approved of...
By Jennifer Agiesta | April 17, 2007; 08:54 AM ET | Comments (1)
