In his speech to the nation tonight, Barack Obama managed to break through the partisan polarization of Washington and connect directly with American voters across the political spectrum according to dial and focus group research conducted during the speech. His speech inspired confidence in voters of all political stripes in his understanding of the challenges the country faces, as well as his agenda for the future.
John McCain entered tonight’s debate needing to halt Barack Obama’s momentum and fundamentally change the dynamic of the race. Not only did he fail to achieve this goal, McCain dug himself an even deeper hole. Undecided voters watching the debate felt McCain gave a decidedly un-presidential performance, appearing rude, negative, and easily flustered – a stark contrast to Barack Obama’s cool, commanding presence.
Barack Obama once again won a presidential debate, and undecided voters are prepared to move toward his candidacy, according to Democracy Corps research conducted around tonight’s second presidential debate. This debate was a clear victory for Obama who made major gains not just in the vote among undecided voters, but also on personal favorability and key attributes like ‘has what it takes to be President,’ which ultimately drove these swing voters into his column.
With Barack Obama gaining momentum, John McCain needed to change the dynamic in the race during tonight’s debate and to shift the focus of the campaign onto friendlier terrain. Instead, Democracy Corps research finds that McCain essentially held his ground in this debate, while Obama emerged with higher personal favorability and increased confidence in his [...]
Immediately following Senator Barack Obama’s historic acceptance of the Democratic nomination, Democracy Corps and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner conducted focus groups in the swing state of Nevada to weigh the moment’s impact. The results were dramatic: More than one quarter of the participants were moved towards Obama, his mean-thermometer score rose nine degrees, and on every personal attribute tested, Obama made significant gains.
Democracy Corps conducted focus groups among likely voters in June 2008.
Recent focus groups conducted by Democracy Corps around the country reveal an environment of serious economic doubts with major political implications. Swing voters in the battleground — Orlando, Fla. and Columbus, Oh. — are scared about making ends meet, worried about the housing crisis, and see increasing income inequality putting a painful squeeze on a declining middle class. As the 2008 election approaches, the candidates and party that offer a real break from the Bush economic agenda will be speaking directly to what drives the desire for change in our country.
In this Democracy Corps focus group analysis, Karl Agne discusses the pessimism driving today’s political environment, voters’ intense opposition to the Iraq war, reactions to some of the latest political advertising hitting the airwaves, and attitudes toward the new Congress and the political parties.
Democracy Corps’ first wave of focus groups since the historic election of 2006 suggests that Democrats have several opportunities to solidify their gains with swing voters, and expand their support as they define themselves in the new Congress. These focus groups were conducted the day before and the day after President Bush’s national address on the Iraq war, and were heavily devoted to understanding attitudes about the war and reaction to the President’s initiative. We also explored voters’ takeaways from the 2006 election and their priorities for the new Congress.
Democracy Corps Focus Group archives are available at:
Focus Group archives
An archived copy of the previous Democracy Corps Website is available at http://archive.democracycorps.com/.
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