Barack Obama got the expected bounce from a successful Democratic National Convention, but the week was bookended by both candidates’ surprise choices for their running mates.
Sarah Palin has made a good first impression. Before being named as John McCain’s running mate, 67% of voters didn’t know enough about the Alaska governor to have an opinion. After her debut in Dayton and a rush of media coverage, a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that 53% now have a favorable opinion of Palin while just 26% offer a less flattering assessment.
More voters are convinced after four days of convention-watching that Senator Joseph Biden was the right pick as Barack Obama’s running mate, but nearly a quarter still aren’t sure.
Just days after Michelle Obama addressed the Democratic National Convention, a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that her favorability ratings have reached their highest levels since tracking began and she is now viewed more favorably than Cindy McCain.
One measure of how well John McCain kept his choice of a Vice Presidential running mate secret is that 67% of voters nationwide have no opinion one way or the other about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that she is unknown to 78% of women.
John McCain is about to name his running mate, and, of the three names most commonly heard, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is by far the candidate most preferred by voters, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Friday’s results from the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll show a bounce for Barack Obama. After leading by just one or two points for most of August, the Democratic hopeful opened a three-point advantage over McCain last Friday—the day before he announced Joe Biden would be his running mate.
The focus at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night is on nominee Barack Obama’s historic acceptance speech, but a man who takes the stage earlier in the evening was in Obama’s place eight years ago and remains one of the party’s most popular members.
Who is Barack Obama? What have voters been telling Rasmussen Reports about the man who has energized his fellow Democrats and tonight officially becomes the first African-American presidential candidate of a major U.S. political party?
Three out of four Democrats (74%) say the party’s ongoing national convention has unified them as they roll out now in full force to put their nominee, Barack Obama, in the White House. Just 14% think the convention has not unified them.
National security is the issue of the day at the Democratic National Convention, but it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Democrats were planning on riding opposition to the highly unpopular war in Iraq right into the White House.
Bill Clinton is expected to talk about himself at the Democratic National Convention tonight and then leave town before Barack Obama’s acceptance speech. But just over half of Democrats believe there is no animosity between the two men and that the former president wants Obama to win.
Nearly half of Democratic women (47%) say Barack Obama should have chosen Hillary Clinton for his running mate instead of Senator Joseph Biden as the former First Lady prepares to speak tonight at the Democratic National Convention. Thirty-nine percent (39%) disagree.
It’s a good thing for Republicans that Colin Powell is still one of them.
Ask Democrats which of their leaders they like (other than Barack and Hillary, of course) as they gather for their national convention in Denver, and Jimmy Carter and Al Gore lead the pack.
The spotlight on the first night of the Democratic National Convention will be on Michelle Obama, who four out of 10 voters (39%) describe as Very Liberal.
On the day that Barack Obama announced Joe Biden as his running mate, 39% of voters said he made the right choice. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 25% disagreed and another 35% are not sure.
The national party conventions will make official over the next two weeks what we already know: The presidential race is Democrat Barack Obama versus Republican John McCain. Senator versus senator, youth versus age, experience versus “change.”
Illinois Senator Barack Obama has selected Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be his Vice Presidential Running Mate. While the suspense was maintained until nearly the last minute, Biden had been the frontrunner all week.
Former Presidential hopeful and Delaware Senator Joe Biden is the frontrunner in the Democratic Vice Presidential sweepstakes. Indiana Senator Evan Bayh is a distant second.
