White House 2000

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ White House 2000 ] [ Congress 2000 ]

White House 2000

Election HQ -- Exit polls, final pre-election trial heats and more.
Post-Election Polls
Trial Heat Trends: Summary | Details
The Candidates
Vice President

Miscellaneous Questions:
Probing candidates' pasts. Clinton's way or a new direction? Are you better off? Presidential debates. A third-party candidate? The primary process. Does it matter?
Democratic Nomination
Republican Nomination
Third Party Nomination

Presidential Debates

*Gallup/CNN/USA Today* Poll**. Oct. 17, 2000. N=522 registered voters nationwide who watched the Oct. 17 presidential debate. Respondents were first interviewed Oct. 11-16. MoE +/- 5.
					.
"Regardless of which candidate you happen to support, who do you think did the better job in the debate: [rotate] Al Gore or George W. Bush?"
		%
	Al Gore	46
	George W. Bush	44
	Both/Equally (vol.)	10
					.
"How would you rate the job Al Gore did in the debate tonight: excellent, good, only fair, or poor? ... How would you rate the job George W. Bush did in the debate tonight: excellent, good, only fair, or poor?"
		Gore	Bush
		%	%
	Excellent	28	24
	Good	49	47
	Only fair	19	24
	Poor	4	4
					.
"Thinking about the following characteristics and qualities, please say whether you think each one better described Al Gore or George W. Bush during tonight’s debate.
		Gore	Bush	Both (vol.)	Neither (vol.)	Not Sure
		%	%	%	%	%
	"Was more likeable"	31	60	6	2	1
						.
	"Agreed with you more on the issues you care about"
		45	51	2	1	1
						.
	"Expressed himself more clearly"
		57	33	8	1	1
						.
	"Was more believable"
		41	52	5	1	1
						.
	"Was more in touch with the average voter"
		45	47	5	1	2

ABC News Poll. Oct. 17, 2000. Conducted among a random-sample panel of 507 registered voters nationwide who watched the Oct. 17 debate. Respondents were initially interviewed Oct. 12-15. MoE ą 4.5. Fieldwork by TNS Intersearch.
					.
"Who, in your opinion, won the debate?"
		ALL	Men	Women
		%	%	%
	Al Gore	41	34	47
	George W. Bush	41	46	35
	Tie	14	17	12
	No opinion	4	3	6
					.
Presidential Preference, among debate-viewers:
		10/17	10/12-15
		%	%
	Bush/Cheney (R)	53	53
	Gore/Lieberman (D)	42	40
	Nader/LaDuke (Green)	2	3
	Buchanan/Foster (Reform)	1	1
	Other	0	0
	Undecided	2	2

*Gallup/CNN/USA Today* Poll**. Oct. 11, 2000. N=529 registered voters nationwide who watched the Oct. 11 presidential debate. Respondents were first interviewed Oct. 5-10. MoE +/- 5.
					.
"Regardless of which candidate you happen to support, who do you think did the better job in the debate: [rotate] Al Gore or George W. Bush?"
		%
	George W. Bush	49
	Al Gore	36
	Neither (vol.)	1
	Both/Equally (vol.)	13
	No opinion	1
					.
"How would you rate the job Al Gore did in the debate tonight: excellent, good, only fair, or poor? ... How would you rate the job George W. Bush did in the debate tonight: excellent, good, only fair, or poor?"
		Gore	Bush
		%	%
	Excellent	18	29
	Good	54	51
	Only fair	25	18
	Poor	3	2
					.
"Thinking about the following characteristics and qualities, please say whether you think each one better described Al Gore or George W. Bush during tonight’s debate.
		Gore	Bush	Both (vol.)	Neither (vol.)	Not Sure
		%	%	%	%	%
	"Was more likeable"	31	56	10	2	1
						.
	"Agreed with you more on the issues you care about"
		43	52	4	1	-
						.
	"Expressed himself more clearly"
		47	39	13	-	1
						.
	"Was more believable"
		38	51	9	2	-

ABC News Poll. Oct. 11, 2000. Conducted among a random-sample panel of 491 registered voters nationwide who watched the Oct. 11 debate. Respondents were initially interviewed Oct. 6-9. MoE ą 4.5. Fieldwork by TNS Intersearch.
					.
"Who, in your opinion, won the debate?"
		ALL	Men	Women
		%	%	%
	George W. Bush	46	50	41
	Al Gore	30	24	37
	Tie	18	19	16
	No opinion	7	7	6
					.
Presidential Preference, among debate-viewers:
		10/11	10/6-9
		%	%
	Bush/Cheney (R)	54	52
	Gore/Lieberman (D)	41	42
	Nader/LaDuke (Green)	2	2
	Buchanan/Foster (Reform)	1	1
	Other	1	1
	Undecided	1	2

ABC News Poll. Oct. 3, 2000. Conducted among a random-sample panel of 491 registered voters nationwide who watched the Oct. 3 debate. Respondents were initially interviewed Sept. 28-Oct. 1. MoE ą 4.5. Fieldwork by TNS Intersearch.
					.
"Who, in your opinion, won the debate?"
		ALL	Men	Women
		%	%	%
	Al Gore	42	32	52
	George W. Bush	39	45	33
	Tie	13	18	9
	No opinion	5	5	6
					.
Presidential Preference, among debate-viewers:
		10/3	9/28- 10/1
		%	%
	Bush/Cheney (R)	49	48
	Gore/Lieberman (D)	45	45
	Nader/LaDuke (Green)	2	3
	Buchanan/Foster (Reform)	1	1
	Other	-	1
	Undecided	2	2

*Gallup/CNN/USA Today* Poll**. Oct. 3, 2000. N=435 registered voters nationwide who watched the Oct. 3 presidential debate. MoE +/- 5.
				.
"Regardless of which candidate you happen to support, who do you think did the better job in the debate: [rotate] Al Gore or George W. Bush?"
		%
	Al Gore	48
	George W. Bush	41
	Neither (vol.)	2
	Both/Equally (vol.)	8
	No opinion	1
				.
"How would you rate the job Al Gore did in the debate tonight: excellent, good, only fair, or poor? ... How would you rate the job George W. Bush did in the debate tonight: excellent, good, only fair, or poor?"
		Gore	Bush
		%	%
	Excellent	25	20
	Good	51	50
	Only fair	20	27
	Poor	4	3
				.
"As a result of tonight's debate, have you changed your vote from one presidential candidate to another?"
		%
	Yes	3
	No	96
	No opinion	1
				.
"Based on your impressions of Al Gore from the debate, are you more confident that he can handle the job of being president, less confident, or has your confidence in Gore not changed much? ... Based on your impressions of George W. Bush from the debate, are you more confident that he can handle the job of being president, less confident, or has your confidence in Bush not changed much?"
		Gore	Bush
		%	%
	More confident	33	40
	Less confident	15	20
	No change	50	38
	Never had confidence (vol.)	1	1
	No opinion	1	1

Marist College Poll. Sept. 27-28 & Oct. 1, 2000. N=588 likely voters nationwide. MoE ą 4.5.
			.
"Do you plan on watching the presidential debate this Tuesday night between George W. Bush and Al Gore, or not?"
		%
	Yes	76
	No	18
	Undecided	6
			.
"Who do you expect will win the presidential debate this Tuesday night: George W. Bush or Al Gore?"
		%
	Bush	32
	Gore	38
	Undecided	30
			.
	Asked of those who plan to watch the debate: "How much will the presidential debate matter to you when deciding whom to vote for president: a great deal, somewhat, not very much, or not at all?"
		Debate Watchers
		%
	A great deal	24
	Somewhat	31
	Not very much	20
	Not at all	25
			.
"Do you want the Green Party candidate Ralph Nader and the Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan to be included in this Tuesday night's presidential debate?"
		%
	Yes	53
	No	37
	Other (vol.)	1
	Undecided	9

Newsweek Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates. Sept. 27-29, 2000. N=1,002 registered voters nationwide. MoE ą 3.
					.
"The presidential debates begin next week. Regardless of which candidate you now support, who do you think has better debating skills, including the use of language, command of information, and ability to relate to an audience: [rotate] Al Gore or George W. Bush?"
		ALL	Repub- licans	Demo- crats	Indepen- dents
		%	%	%	%
	Gore	49	31	70	45
	Bush	29	44	13	31
	Same (vol.)	8	10	7	9
	Neither (vol.)	2	2	1	3
	Don't know	12	13	9	12

*ABC News/Washington* Post Poll**. Sept. 4-6, 2000. N=1,065 registered voters nationwide. MoE +/- 3. Field work by TNS Intersearch.
				.
"Do you think the presidential debates this fall should be between Bush and Gore; or between Bush, Gore, Nader and Buchanan?"
		9/00 (Registered Voters)	7/00 (All Adults)
		%	%
	Bush and Gore	59	49
	Bush, Gore, Nader and Buchanan	38	44
	Both ways (vol.)	1	1
	Bush, Gore and Nader (vol.)	1	1
	Bush, Gore and Buchanan (vol.)	-	1
	No opinion	1	4

Fox News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. July 12-13, 2000. N=900 registered voters nationwide. MoE +/- 3.
				.
"The National Commission on Presidential Debates decided to include only candidates who receive at least 15% of the vote in major national opinion polls in this fall’s presidential debates. Which of the following comes closer to your opinion on this issue? Any candidate who is on enough state ballots to actually win the presidency should be allowed to participate in the debates. OR, Only candidates who have achieved a certain level of support should be allowed to participate in the debates."
			%
	Anyone on enough state ballots		50
	Only if achieve a certain level of support		39
	Not sure		11
				.
"Some people say that while there should be a cutoff for letting candidates into the presidential debates, 15% is too high and the limit should be 5% instead. Would you favor or oppose lowering the limit to 5%?"
		%
	Favor	45
	Oppose	40
	Not sure	15
				.
"Regardless of what the limit is, do you think Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan should be in the presidential debates or not?"
		%
	Should be	64
	Should not be	25
	One should (vol.)	3
	Not sure	8
				.
"Do you think the presidential debates would be more interesting or less interesting if Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan were allowed to participate?"
		%
	More interesting	73
	Less interesting	17
	Same (vol.)	4
	Not sure	6

*NBC News/Wall Street Journal* Poll** conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Robert Teeter (R). Jan. 25-26, 2000. N=505 adults nationwide.
			.
"As you may know, the commission that sponsors presidential debates has said that the Reform Party candidates will not be able to participate in presidential debates with the Democratic and Republican candidates this fall unless they earn 15% of the vote in national news polls preceding the debates. Do you think that Reform Party candidates should or should not have to meet this requirement to participate in presidential debates?"
		%
	Should have to	41
	Should not	51
	Not sure	8

Probing Candidates' Pasts

*CNN/Time* Poll** conducted by Yankelovich Partners. Latest: Aug. 19, 1999. N=942 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.3.
					.
"Now I'd like you to think about all the candidates running for president in the year 2000. Do you think that a presidential candidate should or should not have to answer questions about each of the following? Please keep in mind that they are not meant to describe any particular candidate. . . ."
		Should	Should Not	Not Sure
		%	%	%
	"Whether they had cheated on their taxes in the past."
	8/99	67	29	4
	6/99	78	20	2
					.
	"Whether they had not paid taxes on domestic help in the past."
	8/99	65	30	5
	6/99	70	27	3
					.
	"Whether they had used cocaine in the past."
	8/99	48	49	3
	6/99	60	38	2
					.
	"Whether they had an alcohol problem in the past."
	8/99	47	49	4
	6/99	60	38	2
					.
	"Whether they had used marijuana in the past."
	8/99	35	63	2
	6/99	43	55	2
					.
	"Whether they had an extramarital affair in the past."
	8/99	25	71	4
	6/99	30	68	2

Policy Direction

*NBC News/Wall Street Journal* Poll** conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Robert Teeter (R). Latest: Aug. 10-11, 2000. N=802 registered voters nationwide. MoE +/- 3.6.
					.
"Which one of the following statements do you agree with more? (A) After eight years of the Clinton-Gore Administration, it's time for a change. OR, (B) With the nation at peace and the economy as strong as it is, we should continue with the Democrats in the White House."
		8/00	7/00	6/00
		%	%	%
	A. Time for a change	47	47	47
	B. Continue with the Democrats	46	45	46
	Some of both (vol.)	3	4	2
	Not sure	4	4	5

*ABC News/Washington Post* Poll**. Latest: Aug. 4-6, 2000. N=1,205 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
						.
"Which of these two statements comes closest to your own views? (A) After eight years of Bill Clinton, we need to elect a president who can set the nation in a new direction. (B) We need to keep the country moving in the direction Bill Clinton has been taking us."
		8/00	7/00	2/00	1/00	10/99
		%	%	%	%	%
	New direction	48	46	48	44	47
	Clinton direction	44	49	49	53	48
	In between (vol.)	2	2	1	1	3
	Neither (vol.)	4	1	-	2	1
	No opinion	2	2	1	1	1

Newsweek Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates. August 3-4, 2000. N=817 registered voters nationwide. MoE ą 4.
				.
"Regardless of which presidential candidate you now support, in general, would you like to see the next president continue with Bill Clinton's policies, or change direction from Clinton's policies?"
		8/3-4	7/27-28
		%	%
	Continue	39	41
	Change	50	48
	Don't know	11	11

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates. Feb. 9-14, 2000. N=1,330 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.5.
						.
"Looking ahead to the next presidential election, would you like to see a president who offers policies and programs similar to those of the Clinton Administration, OR would you like to see a president who offers different policies and programs?"
		2/00	8/99	6/99	2/99
		%	%	%	%
	Similar	41	43	43	54
	Different	51	50	50	41
	Don't know	8	7	7	5

Are You Better Off?

*Gallup/CNN/USA Today* Poll**. Jan. 7-10, 2000. N=1,633 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
			.
"Now here are some questions that ask you to compare the situation today with what it was in 1992 -- eight years ago. Are you better off than you were eight years ago, or not?"
		%
	Better off	73
	Not better off	19
	Just as well off (vol.)	7
	No opinion	1
			.
"Is America as respected throughout the world as it was eight years ago, or not?"
		%
	As respected	40
	Not as respected	54
	No opinion	6

A Third-Party Candidate?

*Gallup/CNN/USA Today* Poll**. July 16-18, 1999. N=1,031 adults nationwide.
			.
Form A (N=513; MoE +/- 5): "If Al Gore and George W. Bush were the only two candidates on the presidential ballot in 2000, would you be satisfied with that choice or would you want to see a third-party candidate on the ballot as well?"
		%
	Satisfied	51
	Want 3rd party	46
	No opinion	3
			.
Form B (N=518; MoE +/- 5): "Would you favor or oppose having a third political party that would run candidates for president, Congress, and state offices against the Republican and Democratic candidates?"
		%
	Favor	67
	Oppose	28
	No opinion	5

The Primary Process

*CBS News/New York Times* Poll**. May 10-13, 2000. N=947 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3 (total sample).
						.
		ALL	Repub- licans	Demo- crats	Indepen- dents
		%	%	%	%
"Who do you think had more say in deciding that George W. Bush would be the Republican nominee: Republican Party leaders, Republican primary voters, or people who contributed money to the candidates?"
	Party leaders	26	29	26	24
	Primary voters	21	28	13	21
	Contributors	43	30	53	46
	Combination (vol.)	5	6	4	5
	Don't know/No answer	5	7	4	4
						.
"Who do you think had more say in deciding that Al Gore would be the Democratic nominee: Democratic Party leaders, Democratic primary voters, or people who contributed money to the candidates?"
	Party leaders	46	46	49	43
	Primary voters	20	22	21	18
	Contributors	25	23	22	32
	Combination (vol.)	2	3	2	3
	Don't know/No answer	6	7	6	4

Does It Matter?

*CBS News/New York Times* Poll**. May 10-13, 2000. N=947 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3 (total sample).
						.
"Would you agree or disagree with the following statement? It makes no real difference who is elected president -- things go on just as they did before."
		ALL	Repub- licans	Demo- crats	Indepen- dents
		%	%	%	%
	Agree	33	27	28	43
	Disagree	65	71	70	56
	Don't know/No answer	2	2	2	1

HOME | TABLE OF CONTENTS | SEARCH THE SITECopyright Š 2020 POLLING REPORT, INC., and polling/sponsoring organizations