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Election 2012

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Election 2012

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featureAug 30, 2012

Mormonism in the 2012 Election

A new slideshow highlights recent Pew Research Center data on voters’ views of the Mormon religion and Mormons’ opinions on their place in society.
reportAug 29, 2012

Romney in a Word: ’Honest,’ ’Businessman,’ ’Rich’

As the American public has learned more about Mitt Romney over the course of the past year, his image has changed substantially. Last fall, the one word that came to mind most frequently when people were asked to describe Romney was Mormon. The same question this spring elicited the words rich and no more frequently […]
reportAug 29, 2012

Paul Ryan in a Word: ’Conservative,’ ’Intelligent’

As Paul Ryan prepares to accept his nomination as the GOP’s vice presidential candidate, the American public has a mixed impression of him. When asked what one word comes to mind when thinking about Ryan, the most frequent responses are conservative, intelligent, good, unknown, and young. In the latest national survey by the Pew Research […]
short readsAug 24, 2012

Independents Give Low Ratings to Ryan, But Are More Negative on Biden

A plurality of independents (42%) rate Mitt Romney’s choice of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate “only fair” or “poor,” but even more rate Joe Biden’s performance negatively.
reportAug 23, 2012

The Master Character Narratives in Campaign 2012

On the eve of the conventions, the portrayal in the news media of the character and records of the two presidential contenders in 2012 has been as negative as any campaign in recent times, and neither candidate has enjoyed any advantage over the other.
reportAug 21, 2012

Medicare Voucher Plan Remains Unpopular

Overview Paul Ryan’s selection to the Republican ticket has put the issue of Medicare squarely on the 2012 campaign agenda. And the latest Pew Research Center survey continues to find the public is aware of a proposal to gradually shift Medicare to a system of vouchers and is, on balance, more opposed than supportive of […]
reportAug 15, 2012

How the Presidential Candidates Use the Web and Social Media

On the eve of the conventions, Barack Obama holds a distinct advantage over Mitt Romney in the way his campaign is using digital technology to communicate directly with voters. The Obama campaign is posting almost four times as much content and is active on nearly twice as many platforms, according to a new study analyzing the content and volume of candidate communications on their websites and social media channels.
reportAug 10, 2012

What Voters Know about Campaign 2012

Overview Before you read the report, test your own News IQ by taking the interactive knowledge quiz. The short quiz includes many of the questions that were included in a national poll. Participants will instantly learn how they did on the quiz in comparison with the voting public as well as with people like them. […]
reportAug 2, 2012

Romney’s Personal Image Remains Negative

Overview 2012 Election Voter Preference Trends Track voter preferences for Obama vs. Romney overall and by demographic group. By a 52% to 37% margin, more voters say they have an unfavorable than favorable view of Mitt Romney. The poll, conducted prior to Romney’s recent overseas trip, represents the sixth consecutive survey over the past nine […]
reportAug 2, 2012

Little Public Awareness of Outside Campaign Spending Boom

The public is hearing little about increased spending by outside groups in the 2012 election. Just 25% have heard a lot about outside spending by groups not associated with the candidates or campaigns, while three-quarters are hearing a little (36%) or nothing at all (39%) about this. In fact, the term “super PAC” itself is […]