We may be at a pivotal moment in the 2008 election, and so now is the time for us to share with you some of the results of our Community Caucus Poll
Some Highlights:
• Most popular candidate among the Democrats (48%) and Independents (25%) – Barack Obama
• More people (36%) would most like to attend Barack Obama’s church.
• Of those who thought Jesus would vote (40% of total voters), more said he would support Barack Obama (16% of total voters) than any other candidate.
• Believing in creationism was not a deal breaker in voting for a candidate (54% would vote for a creationist, 46% would not)
• A majority (57%) thought faith has become too big an issue this election
• 40% are NOT hopeful about America’s future – 60% are
• Abortion is NOT a key issue of the election according to an overwhelming majority (79%)
• God is most unhappy about the importance of money in the elections (46%)
Thanks to all of you who have voted so far, and we remind you that the polls will remain open for the duration of the election. We encourage you to continue to share your thoughts and beliefs in the polls and elsewhere in our Community Caucus!
Here is a summary of all the results so far:
1. John McCain is the candidate more Republicans believe in and vote for – 33 percent and 37 percent.
2. Barack Obama is the candidates more Democrats believe in and vote for – 48 percent and 54 percent.
3. Barack Obama is the candidate more Independents believe in and would vote for– 17 percent and 25 percent.
4. Most important issues of the election are the Economy (29 percent) and the Iraq War (24 percent). Health Care received (12 percent).
5. More than half the people polled said the religion significantly shapes their political views (51 percent).
6. Half those polled said that no one party better represents religious people (50 percent), but 33 percent thought Republicans better defended religious voters.
7. 38 percent of those polled thought that a candidate’s character and stance on issues can not be judged separately. They are in fact interconnected.
8. 57 percent think that a candidate’s faith has become too big an issue this election.
9. It is important to 40 percent of those polled that a candidate be religious, though not necessarily important that they follow one religion in particular. Only 5 percent said that it was important to them that a candidate not be religious.
10. 47 percent of those polled said they do not pray for the candidates, while 39 percent said they pray for all of them.
11. 41 percent of those polled said that Jesus would not vote in the election. But among those who felt he would vote, 16 percent thought he would cast his ballot for Barack Obama. 9 percent said he would vote for Mike Huckabee. And 19 percent had no idea who he would vote for.
12. The most important qualities of a president according to poll takers are leadership (31 percent) and honesty (24 percent).
13. 39 percent of those polled said they would like to see former Vice President Al Gore enter the presidential race. 26 percent voted for former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich as the candidate they’d most like to see enter, while 17 percent favored comedian Stephen Colbert.
14. Asked if if they were hopeful about America’s future, considering those running to the lead country, 60 percent of poll takers said YES. The rest said NO.
15. Most people said that family dynamics matter but not a lot when it comes to voting for a presidential candidate (45 percent).
16. When discussing moral values of the candidates, most of those polled (44 percent) said they believe that includes the candidate’s stance on everything from abortion and gay unions to war and poverty as well as his or her personal character and beliefs. 37 percent thought that moral values meant strictly character and values.
17. Most of those polled said they would vote for a candidate who believed in creationism over evolution (54 percent).
18. 43 percent of those polled said they oppose the war in Iraq on moral grounds, while 5 percent said that while it is a moral issue, they were ambivalent about the war.
19. An overwhelming majority of those polled (79 percent) do not believe that ending abortion is the key moral issue of domestic policy.
20. By far (44 percent), more said that Barack Obama is the candidate most likely to bring about change.
21. 36 percent of those polled said they would most like to attend Barack Obama’s church, while 19 percent were interested in going to Mike Huckabee’s. Only 6 percent were interested in attending John McCain’s church.
22. 45 percent of those polled think God would most disapprove of the role money plays in politics. Only 8 percent voted that the almighty would consider the election sinful.
[At the time of this post, between 200 and 600 people had responded to each poll question]