COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - August 20, 2010) - Independents often hold the key to elections, so the November midterms could prove to be interesting as 41.8% of registered Independent voters say they are somewhat/very excited to vote, according to the latest American Pulse™ Survey of 5,151 respondents. Likewise, 41.8% of Democrats and 61.6% of Republicans are feeling the same way. An energized group of Independents could signal bad news for Democratic chances this fall as their opinions seem to be in line with Republican views.
90.6% of excited Independent voters and 95.5% of registered Republicans say the federal government is spending too much (67.8% of registered Democrats who are excited to vote agree). The similarities with Republicans continue with bailouts, pork-barrel projects and stimulus packages all cited as areas they believe the government is over-spending on.
| What is the government spending too much on? (Top 3) | ||
| Registered Independents Excited to Vote |
Registered Republicans Excited to Vote |
Registered Democrats Excited to Vote |
| Bailouts (81.7%) | Bailouts (87.9%) | War in Iraq (75.7%) |
| Pork-barrel projects (76.4%) | Pork-barrel projects (76.0%) | War in Afghanistan (70.0%) |
| Stimulus packages (63.5%) | Stimulus packages (68.9%) | Bailouts (66.8%) |
Further, 72.1% of excited Independents say they are totally unhappy/unhappy with their government (79.7% of Republicans say the same, compared to 33.4% of Democrats). And if the Congressional Elections were held today it appears this group would make a move to shake up power; 48.3% would cast their vote for a Republican vs. 16.8% who would vote for a Democrat. The gap is even wider when it comes to the Presidential Election; 60.1% would vote for an unnamed Republican and 20% would vote for President Obama.
One reason that Independents may be inclined to vote Republican if the Presidential Election were held today is that they tend to think the President's performance on domestic issues is either poor or failing.
| How do you think President Obama is doing? (Excited Independent Voters) | |||||
| A | B | C | D | F | |
| Economy | 4.3% | 9.3% | 14.2% | 22.4% | 49.8% |
| Healthcare | 7.6% | 11.6% | 12.7% | 17.6% | 50.5% |
| Job Creation | 3.7% | 8.4% | 13.1% | 18.6% | 56.2% |
| Immigration | 3.1% | 6.8% | 10.4% | 17.6% | 62.0% |
Complimentary report: http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com
Comparisons among excited registered voters:
| Registered Voters Excited to Vote | ||||||
| Independents | Republicans | Democrats | ||||
| • % who would vote for state law preventing federal government from mandating health insurance | 64.8 | 70.3 | 34.5 | |||
| • % who think their kids will inherit a country worse off than they did | 78.8 | 85.7 | 50.5 | |||
| • % who say Federal government not doing enough to stop illegal immigration | 92.6 | 94.9 | 81.5 | |||
| • % who don't believe Social Security will be around when they retire | 40.9 | 46.3 | 33.0 | |||
American Pulse™
The American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch® twice a month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International's (SSI) U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, pop culture and the economy. Over 5,000 respondents participate, providing greater insights and accuracy of +/- 1%. www.bigresearch.com
Survey Sampling International (SSI)
Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 54 countries via Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting, and survey optimization. SSI serves more than 1,800 marketing research clients, including nearly three-quarters of the top researchers worldwide. Founded in 1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and 36 languages. The company is based in Shelton, CT with 14 additional offices worldwide. www.surveysampling.com
Contact Information:
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Chrissy Wissinger
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