As head of polling and focus group research for President Obama, David Simas of Taunton says he’s “like a human nerve-ending” because of the dizzying array of numbers and videotape he constantly scans. … Simas made several public appearances during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., including one at […] Read more »
The Unexpected Impact of Coded Appeals
… [R]ecent research by political scientists … suggests that racial and cultural anxieties actually have their greatest political influence on better-educated whites. … So why is racial animus more politicized among well-educated whites? The simple answer is that education imparts social and political knowledge that prepares people to better read […] Read more »
Among likely voters, Obama-Romney close
Last week’s Democratic convention helped President Obama improve his standing against Republican Mitt Romney with all voters but failed to change underlying public perceptions of his job performance, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Among the smaller, more rigorous, sample of likely voters the presidential race remains exceedingly […] Read more »
Obama gets a lift, Romney flatlines in post convention polling
President Obama has gotten a bounce in the national tracking polls taken in the aftermath of the Democratic national convention. I maintain that our ability to judge whether this bounce has changed the trajectory of the race cannot be known until 15 September. What we can tell now, though, is […] Read more »
Note to GOP: When Your Pollster Says Don’t Worry, You Should
Here’s a rule of thumb for campaigns: When they have to start telling supporters not to worry, it’s probably time to start worrying. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s top pollster Neil Newhouse issued an unusual early morning memo on Monday assuring Republicans that the campaign remains on track to win […] Read more »
Democratic Convention Highlights: Clinton Outshines Obama
Like Mitt Romney, Barack Obama was not the highlight of his party’s convention. Among those who watched at least a little coverage of the Democratic convention, 29% say the highlight was Bill Clinton’s speech, while 16% name Obama’s speech as the highlight. About as many (15%) say that first lady […] Read more »