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Two radically different story lines are emerging in the presidential race, depending on what kind of poll you look at. If you look at the national-level data, Barack Obama seems to be underachieving. In the latest Gallup daily tracking poll, the presumptive Democratic nominee holds a scant two-point edge over John McCain. The margin is also two points in Rasmussen's daily poll—which also shows a dead-even race when "leaners" are factored in. Some other recent polls have been a little more favorable to Obama, but the combined weight of the available national data strongly suggests that Obama, despite his personal...

PRINCETON, NJ -- Barack Obama wins the support of 46% of national registered voters interviewed in Gallup Poll Daily tracking from July 10-12, while John McCain is not far behind with 43%.

Americans who say religion is an important part of their daily lives support John McCain over Barack Obama for president, 50% to 40%, while their less religious counterparts support Obama over McCain, 55% to 36%.

PRINCETON, NJ -- In 9 of the past 15 U.S. presidential elections, the candidate who was leading in Gallup polling roughly four months before the election ultimately won the popular vote for president. However, narrowing the set of races to the nine that were competitive, the early polling proved prescient in only three of those. With Barack Obama leading John McCain by no more than six percentage points in Gallup's early July polling, the 2008 race currently fits best into the "competitive" category. Given that assumption, Gallup's election trends from a comparable point in previous presidential election years offer no...

PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans see Barack Obama as better able than John McCain to handle energy issues and the economy, the two most important election issues in the public's eyes, according to a recent Gallup survey. Click link for more poll info.

The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking presidential trial heat, based on July 25-26 and 28 interviewing, finds Barack Obama moving slightly ahead of John McCain, 46% to 42%. Registered voters' preferences had been evenly divided in the prior three Gallup Poll Daily tracking releases. Obama has now pushed slightly back ahead after a stronger showing in Saturday's polling, mirroring the slight advantage he has held for much of June. The polling was the first Gallup had conducted following the "Unity" rally in which Obama and former Democratic nomination rival Hillary Clinton publicly campaigned together. The presidential race has been close...

As the GOP in Congress appears about to be taking an "every man for himself" strategy for the fall elections, Gallup has just given the Republicans another gift (Americans Oppose Income Redistribution to Fix Economy). The results of this poll show that if the GOP ever gets back to preaching and adhering to the simple message that they used to have -- one that they've previously ridden to victory on -- they'd be shoe-ins in 2008. Whether or not the Republicans have cleaned their own house enough to take advantage of something like this remains to be seen. The numbers...

PRINCETON, NJ -- For the third straight day, Gallup Poll Daily tracking shows Barack Obama and John McCain tied in national registered voter preferences for the fall election, each now with 44% of the vote.

<p>PRINCETON, NJ -- In the June 15-19 USA Today/Gallup poll, Barack Obama leads John McCain among registered voters in a presidential preference test, 48% to 42%. The same poll finds Obama swamping McCain in Americans' perceptions of who has the better grasp of the problems Americans face, while McCain leads Obama by a slight margin as a "strong and decisive leader."</p>

Out of 16 major American institutions, Congress ranks dead last in the eyes of the American people according to Gallup. Even HMOs are more revered. If Carrot Top and Joey Buttafuoco were elected to Congress, it would improve the legislative branch’s reputation. The reasons for Congress’s craptacular standing are too long to list here. But some culprits never get blamed, even though they are hiding in plain sight. Chief among them: the U.S. Supreme Court.

So, there I was, sitting at a local Mexican food joint enjoying my nachos and sweet tea. Nothing like Tex-Mex to finish off a great day. That's when I turned my attention to a TV on the wall on which CNN's Wolf Blitzer was talking to Jack Cafferty. Cafferty had asked viewers a question and wanted an email response. The question? "What does it mean that Barack Obama has opened up a double digit lead over John McCain?" The responses are not important. What is important, however, is that in the entire program, Jack does not mention the Gallup poll...

PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup Poll Daily tracking from June 23-25 finds Barack Obama and John McCain tied for the second straight day in national registered voter preferences for the fall election, each winning 44% of the vote. Today's results are consistent with Wednesday's finding of a tie at 45%. Additionally, Obama and McCain have been roughly tied in each individual day's results including in today's three-day rolling average, indicating some stability in the race since Monday. (To view the complete trend since March 7, click here.) The gap in support for the two presumptive major party nominees over the past...

McCain has got an 80 - 55 % advantage over Obama regarding his ability to be Commander in Chief. Hmmm. Interesting.

PRINCETON, NJ -- The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update on the presidential election finds John McCain and Barack Obama exactly tied at 45% among registered voters nationwide.

The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update on the presidential election finds John McCain and Barack Obama exactly tied at 45% among registered voters nationwide. Voter preferences had been fairly evenly divided for the past week, with Obama generally holding a slight advantage of two or three percentage points. This is the first time since Gallup's May 31-June 4 rolling average that Obama does not have at least a slim advantage over McCain. Obama's largest lead to date has been seven points. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.) Since the changes from Tuesday's results are...

PRINCETON, NJ -- Voters' presidential preferences remain closely divided between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, with Obama maintaining a slight edge, 46% to 43% in June 21-23 Gallup Poll Daily tracking. This is the fifth straight day that neither candidate has held a statistically significant lead, although Obama has consistently polled a slightly higher number, as he has since the start of June. On this long-term basis, it seems clear that Obama has a significant, albeit slight, advantage in the race.

Only 12 percent of Americans now have confidence in Congress, the lowest percentage in the 35 years that the Gallup Poll has tracked the number. Americans now view Congress less favorably any of the 14 other American institutions tracked by Gallup, including big business, newspapers and health maintenance organizations. Even as President Bush’s approval rating languishes at a record low, more than twice as many Americans have confidence in the presidency — 26 percent — than have confidence in Congress. The Democrats have controlled both houses of the Congress since January 2007. It remains to be seen whether the Democratic...

PRINCETON, NJ -- National registered voters' preferences for the general election remain closely divided between Democrat Barack Obama (46%) and Republican John McCain (44%).

PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's annual update on confidence in institutions finds just 12% of Americans expressing confidence in Congress, the lowest of the 16 institutions tested this year, and the worst rating Gallup has measured for any institution in the 35-year history of this question

Gallup Poll Daily tracking shows Barack Obama with 46% of the support of registered voters and John McCain at 44%.

Via Jeralyn at TalkLeft: Barack Obama and John McCain are in a statistical dead heat according to the Daily Gallup tracking poll. Why? Seems to me to be the high number of undecideds combined with those who won’t vote for either. As Karl Rove has been mentioning frequently on Fox News, during the same general pre-convention time period, Michael Dukakis enjoyed a 12-14% advantage over George W. Bush. The key appears to be the large number of undecided voters or those who do not wish to vote for either candidate. Why is this so, and how can we take advantage...

Voter preferences in the presidential election remain closely split between Barack Obama, now favored by 46% of national registered voters, and John McCain, favored by 44%.

Good news but not great news, for reasons you’ll shortly see. Which way’s the trend moving? Gallup doesn’t offer historical data to compare and it’s hard to tell from other pollsters, whose surveys on this issue tend to stick to questions about whether gun laws should be made stricter or not. CNN did poll the “individual right vs. militia right” question a few months ago, though, and found 65 percent support at the time, 72 percent among men and 58 percent among women. The margin of error there, as in the Gallup poll, was three percent, so there may well...

John McCain has thus far defied expectations throughout the primary cycle, and Gallup now says that he has become the most popular candidate in the race. A new poll shows him with higher favorability ratings than the Barack Obama Experience, with significantly lower unfavorable ratings as well. Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, has also begun to show some improvement, with less than a majority detesting her now: John McCain’s 67% favorable rating is the highest of any of the three major candidates running for president, and ties for his highest in Gallup polling history. …McCain’s favorable rating matches the 67% he received...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A huge survey of the world's Muslims released Tuesday challenges Western notions that equate Islam with radicalism and violence. The survey, conducted by the Gallup polling agency over six years and three continents, seeks to dispel the belief held by some in the West that Islam itself is the driving force of radicalism. It shows that the overwhelming majority of Muslims condemned the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001 and other subsequent terrorist attacks, the authors of the study said in Washington. "Samuel Harris said in the Washington Times (in 2004): 'It is time...

At 4:54pm tonight, Ramesh Ponnuru linked to a story from Gallup that proves once and for all that Huckabee supporters support McCain 2 to 1 over Romney if Huckabee is out of the race.

A new Gallup poll shows Hillary Clinton has lost most of her once-dominant national lead over Barack Obama, just as the race turns towards a clarifying Super Tuesday primary date. She has tumbled six points in nine days, while Obama has gained eight in the same period. With John Edwards exiting the race, Obama has momentum and seems poised to pick up more steam: Barack Obama has now cut the gap with Hillary Clinton to 6 percentage points among Democrats nationally in the Gallup Poll Daily tracking three-day average, and interviewing conducted Tuesday night shows the gap between the two...

Among Republicans, Huckabee has jumped from 16% of the vote in December 2007 to 25% as of this polling. Coupled with the loss of support for former front-runner Rudy Giuliani, Huckabee is now the leader among Republicans nationally, with a 5-point lead over Giuliani and 6-point lead over John McCain (who has gained 5 points since December). Mitt Romney, after failing to win in Iowa, is now in fifth place nationally with just 9% of the vote, which is his lowest percentage since early October.

With New Hampshire ready to fall into his lap, Barack Obama may have a better shot at the national title than anyone would have believed. According to the latest Gallup polling, he has tied Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination at 33%, erasing an 18-point gap in three weeks. Mike Huckabee leads a tight Republican race, reversing an 11-point gap: On the Democratic side, Iowa winner Obama has moved into a tie with Clinton. Both now have 33% of the vote. This represents a 6-point gain since December 2007 for Obama and a 12-point loss for Clinton. John Edwards has...

This time of year provides an opportunity to answer frequently asked questions about exactly where America stands today in regard to religion, based on Gallup's extensive archives. Christmas is obviously a Christian holiday. But what percentage of Americans today identify with a Christian religion? About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup interviewers that they identified with a Christian religion. That includes 51% who said they were Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23% Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon. Because 11% said they had no religious identity at all, and another 2% didn't...

PRINCETON, NJ -- This time of year provides an opportunity to answer frequently asked questions about exactly where America stands today in regard to religion, based on Gallup's extensive archives. Christmas is obviously a Christian holiday. But what percentage of Americans today identify with a Christian religion? About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup interviewers that they identified with a Christian religion. That includes 51% who said they were Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23% Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon.

PRINCETON, NJ -- This time of year provides an opportunity to answer frequently asked questions about exactly where America stands today in regard to religion, based on Gallup's extensive archives. Christmas is obviously a Christian holiday. But what percentage of Americans today identify with a Christian religion?About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup interviewers that they identified with a Christian religion. That includes 51% who said they were Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23% Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon.Because 11% said they had no religious identity at all, and another 2%...

Recall the pushback when we linked to the Zogby poll that showed Hillary's support eroding at the end of November? The numbers showed Hillary losing ground against all Republican contenders, and had some correlation with Rasmussen's numbers as well. Nonsense, came the response; Gallup's polling in November -- two weeks earlier -- showed Hillary maintaining her momentum. Oops: Though both candidates maintain their leads, Rudy Giuliani continues to lose support and Hillary Clinton drops nine points in Gallup's latest poll. No text report has been posted by Gallup, but the trend for Hillary looks bad and seems to be accelerating....

The Gallup organization released a report this morning that explains much about our politics and our self-perception. In Republicans Report Much Better Mental Health Than Others, Gallup researcher Frank Newport explains how the data from four different Gallup Health and Healthcare polls describe Republicans of every socio-economic stripe as rating their mental health better than do either Independents or Democrats. Significantly better. According to the report, Republicans' mental health is described as Excellent by 58% of respondents, a rating achieved by 43% of Independents and only 38% of Democrats. Conversely, almost twice as many Democrats describe their condition as Fair/Poor...

Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats or independents to rate their mental health as excellent, according to data from the last four November Gallup Health and Healthcare polls. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans report having excellent mental health, compared to 43% of independents and 38% of Democrats. This relationship between party identification and reports of excellent mental health persists even within categories of income, age, gender, church attendance, and education. The basic data -- based on an aggregated sample of more than 4,000 interviews conducted since 2004 -- are straightforward. The differences are quite significant, as can be seen. While...

PRINCETON, NJ -- The vast majority of Americans say former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has an excellent or good chance both of being elected president and of defeating Hillary Clinton in the November 2008 general election if Clinton is the Democratic presidential candidate. None of the other leading Republican candidates comes close to Giuliani on either measure. Americans give Giuliani, Arizona Sen. John McCain, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney slightly better chances of “being elected president” than of “defeating Hillary Clinton.” Giuliani also has an advantage in perceived electability over the rest of the Republican field in...

PRINCETON, NJ -- As the Republican presidential candidates square off in the latest in a series of debates -- this time in Dearborn, Mich. tonight -- new Gallup polling shows former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani continuing to hold onto his status as front-runner, 12 points ahead of former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson and 16 points ahead of John McCain. Thompson -- for whom this will be the first national debate since officially declaring his candidacy -- is still less well-known to Republicans nationwide than Giuliani and McCain, suggesting that the debate could be an important opportunity for him...

by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com EditorOctober 4, 2007Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new Gallup poll finds an overwhelming majority of Democrats say they trust pro-abortion New York Sen. Hillary Clinton to handle the issue of abortion. She obtains much higher support on the issue from Democrats in the survey than pro-abortion rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards.Sen. Hillary Clinton, who currently leads the Democratic race for the 2008 presidential nomination by more than 20 percentage points according to two recent polls.Part of the lead is explained in a new Gallup survey which shows Democrats perceive Clinton as the best prepared of the...

PRINCETON, NJ -- Rudy Giuliani has led the field of Republican candidates for the 2008 presidential nomination in every Gallup Poll since January. In the most recent nationwide poll of Republicans, 30% name Giuliani as their first choice for the party's nomination, giving him an eight-point lead over second place Fred Thompson who registers 22% support. John McCain is in third place at 18% and Mitt Romney is in fourth at 7%, with the five other announced candidates all polling at 4% or less. While nowhere near as dominant as the Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Giuliani, like Clinton, leads among...

Rudy Giuliani 30 Fred Thompson 22 John McCain 18 Mitt Romney 7 Ron Paul 4 Mike Huckabee 4 Duncan Hunter 2 Sam Brownback 2 Tom Tancredo 1

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Military veterans are ready to salute Rudy Giuliani as their next commander-in-chief - but treat Hillary Rodham Clinton like a private. Giuliani is the most popular presidential candidate among vets and Clinton is the most unpopular, according to a Gallup poll released yesterday. Giuliani - a supporter of the Iraq war who obtained an occupational deferment during Vietnam - was viewed favorably by 64 percent of veterans. Only 29 percent disliked him. By comparison, 59 percent of vets gave Clinton an unfavorable rating. Only 37 percent gave her a thumbs-up, giving her the poorest overall rating. The Gallup survey suggested...

August 20, 2007 New Gallup Poll: Romney Posts Modest Gains Majority of Republicans unaware of his Iowa victory, however by Frank Newport GALLUP NEWS SERVICEPRINCETON, NJ -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has posted modest gains over the last two weeks, both in his favorable rating and in his positioning in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. One presumption is that Romney's gains reflect the visibility that followed his win in the Iowa Republican Party straw poll last weekend, although data in the new Gallup Poll show that only a third of Republicans nationwide are directly aware that...

PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll finds Congress' approval rating the lowest it has been since Gallup first tracked public opinion of Congress with this measure in 1974. Just 18% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, while 76% disapprove, according to the August 13-16, 2007, Gallup Poll. That 18% job approval rating matches the low recorded in March 1992, when a check-bouncing scandal was one of several scandals besetting Congress, leading many states to pass term limits measures for U.S. representatives (which the Supreme Court later declared unconstitutional). Congress had a similarly low 19% approval rating...

NEW YORK Despite rising criticism from some quarters, Gen. David Petraeus appears to command considerable respect from the average American, a new Gallup poll reveals, booosting the chances that his much-publicized September report on the "surge" will be treated as credible by most. The poll of 1,012 adults, taken earlier this month, found that 47% give him a favorable rating, and only 21% unfavorable. The rest had not heard of him or had no opinion. This is the first time that Gallup asked Americans about their overall opinion of Petraeus. In April, however, Gallup asked about the reliability of various...

With an increasing number of people using caller ID or using cell phones exclusively, who are the pollsters reaching? Do they have access to cell phone numbers?From my experience, pollsters show up as "unknown" via caller ID. Is polling via phone obsolete?

Americans' confidence in organized religion and other institutions is down across the board compared to last year, a recent Gallup poll found. Only 46 percent of Americans have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in church/organized religion which is one percentage point of being the lowest in Gallup's history since 1973. Confidence in the church dropped in the wake of the television evangelism scandals of the late 1980s and early 1990s. It then fell significantly in the wake of revelations surrounding the Catholic priest abuse scandal in 2002. The Gallup poll found that Protestants are more likely...

WASHINGTON — Democrats pledged to take Congress in a new direction when it won control in November 2006, but less than six months after taking the reins, Americans aren't pleased with the results, giving lawmakers an all-time low public confidence rating. In a Gallup poll released Thursday, only 14 percent of Americans have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress, a Gallup poll reports. The poll shows an all-time lowest confidence rating and one of the lowest ratings for any institution in 30 years. The lowest confidence rating for Congress was 18 percent during 1991 to...

Congress: Like the victim of a slick used car salesman tricked into buying a lemon, Americans wish they could return the Democratic Congress their votes bought: Confidence in Congress has hit an all-time low of 14%. Gallup just announced its annual survey of public confidence in an array of institutions in American life. Our brave men and women in uniform, naturally, were tops: Confidence in the military is at 69%. Small business, the chief jobs creator in our country, came in second at 59%. Banks garnered only 41%; the Supreme Court, public schools and the medical system were all in...