Polls - Rasmussen Reports

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.

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.

With energy policy at the center of the current presidential campaign, voters believe electric or hybrid cars and nuclear power plants are more likely than solar or wind power to significantly reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. Biofuels such as ethanol are seen as even less likely to help.

The presidential race in New Hampshire is now a toss-up. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds that Barack Obama's once-double-digit lead over John McCain is down to a statistically insignificant one-point lead, 43% to 42%.

Ohio, the ultimate swing state in Election 2004, continues to lean in John McCain's direction, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state.

While confusion continues to reign in Georgia as to Russia's intentions there and NATO prepares to get into the act, 50% of Americans believe the United Nations should send peacekeepers to the region, but only 22% say U.S. troops should be involved.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows Barack Obama attracting 44% of the vote while John McCain earns 43%. When "leaners" are included, it's Obama 47% and McCain 46% (see recent daily results). Tracking Polls are released at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time each day (Premium Members can see more at the Daily Snapshot). Sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it's free).

Senator Tom Coburn is unknown to most Americans, but the strange workings of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics could end up making the Oklahoma Republican far more popular than he is today. The numbers in a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey also highlight the huge gap between the culture of Washington and the American people.

One third of voters nationwide (33%) agree with Barack Obama that allowing Senator Hillary Clinton's name to also be placed in nomination at the Democratic National Convention will "help us celebrate this defining moment in our history and bring the party together in a strong united fashion." But slightly more (40%) believe it will hurt party unity.

It's hard to imagine a closer political race than the battle for Virginia's Electoral College votes.

Six out of 10 Americans (61%) say Congress should return to Washington immediately to vote on lifting the ban on offshore oil drilling, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. But voters overwhelmingly expect Congress to adjourn this year without taking action.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) support going ahead with offshore oil drilling, an issue that John McCain seized on in early June as a way to help lower gas prices and has since forced Barack Obama to at least partially agree with.

Voters overwhelmingly believe that politicians will "break the rules to help people who give them a lot of money," but most say there's a bigger problem in politics today—media bias.

The number of Americans who believe getting the troops home from Iraq is more important than winning the war there has fallen below 50% for the first time since Rasmussen Reports began polling on the question in May.

With Hillary Clinton scheduled to make her first solo campaign appearance for Barack Obama this Friday, more than seven out of 10 Democrats (72%) rate her conduct as good or excellent since dropping out of the presidential race. Sixty percent (60%) of all voters agree.

Sometimes in the day-to-day tracking of a Presidential race, it's hard to separate statistical noise from larger trends.

With Barack Obama launching an energy offensive this week to regain ground lost to John McCain and the Republicans, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that most voters favor the presumptive Democratic nominee's proposal for a $1,000 energy credit for working families.

John McCain's rejection of affirmative action as presently constituted drew stony silence from a black audience on Friday, but even Barack Obama has problems with the government's use of a quota system to advance women and minorities. Both men are careful, too, to suggest that something needs to take its place.

The good news for John McCain in Montana is that he's gained six points on Barack Obama over the past month. The bad news is that the race is essentially even in a state that George W. Bush won by 20-percentage points in 2004 and by 24 points four years earlier. Even Bob Dole managed to win Montana's three Electoral College votes, albeit by a narrow 44% to 41% margin, with Ross Perot picking up 14%.

Thirty percent (30%) of conservative Democrats say they're voting for John McCain. Rasmussen Reports data also shows the Republican hopeful picking up support from 19% of White Democrats and 15% of Democrats over the age of 50. These results are from national telephone survey interviews conducted with 14,000 Likely Voters during the two weeks ending July 24. The sample includes 5,074 Democratic voters.

Americans continue to show confidence that the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror. The newest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 50% of voters believe the U.S. is winning, while just 21% say the terrorists are ahead.

When it comes to whom voters like among Barack Obama's possible running mates, it's all about the also-rans.

Workers' confidence in the labor markets stabilized in July after falling to a record low in June.