Poll: Iowans believe black, woman could be elected president
Poll: Iowans believe black, woman could be elected president
DES MOINES, Iowa - Most Iowans believe a black or a woman could be elected president, but a majority believe the country is not ready to elect a Hispanic, according to a poll released Sunday.
According to The Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll, two-thirds of the state's adults believe the nation is ready for an African-American president in 2008. A smaller slice, 55 percent, say Americans would elect a woman. About 40 percent of respondents believe the country is ready for a president who is Hispanic.
The results are from a poll conducted by Des Moines-based Selzer & Co. Inc. The poll was based on interviews with 800 Iowans ages 18 or older over four days last week. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The results, from a state where precinct caucuses are expected to launch the 2008 presidential nominating season, generally mirror recent national polls by CBS News and Newsweek, although the Iowa results for a black candidate are higher by 12 to 13 percentage points than those national surveys.
Experts said the poll's findings are at least a partial reflection of Iowans' feelings about two prominent Democrats who could be on the ballot in 2008 : Sen. Hillary Clinton, of New York, who made her first trip to Iowa this weekend, and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, a biracial Harvard-educated lawyer who is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the nation's first Hispanic governor, recently announced he was joining the Democratic field, but he isn't as well known at this stage of the race, experts said.
Peverill Squire, a University of Iowa political science professor, said the results, "signal that each of the candidates who fit in that category may have a little more resistance to overcome than we have predicted early on."
Sunday's poll results included all Iowa adults and did not distinguish between people who are planning on participating in the 2008 caucuses or presidential election.
Sunday's poll also offers a better window into the presidential prospects of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat.
A plurality of Iowans, 47 percent, think it's a bad idea for Vilsack to run for president. They outnumber the 40 percent who believe his candidacy is a good idea. The rest of those polled were unsure.
The numbers, though, are an improvement from a previous Iowa Poll conducted in January 2005. Back then, 29 percent of Iowans thought it was a good idea that Vilsack seek the presidency.
Sunday's poll also showed that a solid majority of Iowans, 69 percent, approve of Vilsack's job performance during his eight years in the governor's office.
He left office earlier this month.
Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/01/29/ap-state-ia/d8muh9901.txt
DES MOINES, Iowa - Most Iowans believe a black or a woman could be elected president, but a majority believe the country is not ready to elect a Hispanic, according to a poll released Sunday.
According to The Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll, two-thirds of the state's adults believe the nation is ready for an African-American president in 2008. A smaller slice, 55 percent, say Americans would elect a woman. About 40 percent of respondents believe the country is ready for a president who is Hispanic.
The results are from a poll conducted by Des Moines-based Selzer & Co. Inc. The poll was based on interviews with 800 Iowans ages 18 or older over four days last week. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The results, from a state where precinct caucuses are expected to launch the 2008 presidential nominating season, generally mirror recent national polls by CBS News and Newsweek, although the Iowa results for a black candidate are higher by 12 to 13 percentage points than those national surveys.
Experts said the poll's findings are at least a partial reflection of Iowans' feelings about two prominent Democrats who could be on the ballot in 2008 : Sen. Hillary Clinton, of New York, who made her first trip to Iowa this weekend, and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, a biracial Harvard-educated lawyer who is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the nation's first Hispanic governor, recently announced he was joining the Democratic field, but he isn't as well known at this stage of the race, experts said.
Peverill Squire, a University of Iowa political science professor, said the results, "signal that each of the candidates who fit in that category may have a little more resistance to overcome than we have predicted early on."
Sunday's poll results included all Iowa adults and did not distinguish between people who are planning on participating in the 2008 caucuses or presidential election.
Sunday's poll also offers a better window into the presidential prospects of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat.
A plurality of Iowans, 47 percent, think it's a bad idea for Vilsack to run for president. They outnumber the 40 percent who believe his candidacy is a good idea. The rest of those polled were unsure.
The numbers, though, are an improvement from a previous Iowa Poll conducted in January 2005. Back then, 29 percent of Iowans thought it was a good idea that Vilsack seek the presidency.
Sunday's poll also showed that a solid majority of Iowans, 69 percent, approve of Vilsack's job performance during his eight years in the governor's office.
He left office earlier this month.
Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/01/29/ap-state-ia/d8muh9901.txt
posted by presgore19 at 4:39 AM
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