Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
Liberal Democrats Top Conservative Republicans in Donations, Activism
More Than a Quarter of Voters Read Political Blogs
With less than two weeks to go before Election Day, voters remain riveted to the presidential campaign. But liberal Democrats are leading the way by engaging in far more activism than other partisan and ideological groups.
By almost any measure of political interest or activity, liberal Democratic voters are more strongly connected to this election than are conservative Republicans or other voters. Fully nine-in-ten liberal Democrats (91%) say they are giving quite a lot of thought to the election; somewhat fewer conservative Republicans (84%) say they are giving a great deal of thought to the election.
However, when it comes to direct political involvement -- making campaign contributions or attending events -- liberal Democratic voters hold much larger advantages over conservative Republicans. More than a third of liberal Democrats (34%) say they have contributed money to any of the presidential candidates during the course of this campaign, which is more than double the percentage of conservative Republicans who say they have made donations (13%). And nearly three times as many liberal Democrats as conservative Republicans say they have attended a political event during the campaign (21% vs. 8%).
The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Oct. 16-19 among 2,599 registered voters interviewed on landline phones and cell phones, finds new indications of the internet's expanding reach in political communication. Fully 39% of voters say they have watched some form of online video relating to the election -- either candidate debates, interviews with the candidates, speeches or campaign commercials.
Liberal Democrats also are far more likely than others to watch online campaign videos or find election information on the internet. Six-in-ten liberal Democratic voters say they have watched some form of campaign video (debate, commercial, etc.), compared with 33% of conservative Republicans. In addition, 43% of liberal Democrats say they read blogs about politics and the campaign; only about half as many conservative Republicans (22%) say they have read political blogs.
Perhaps not surprisingly given their intense interest, liberal Democrats more often than other voters say they would have an intense emotional reaction if their candidate does not win the election.
In general, large majorities of Obama supporters and McCain supporters say they would be disappointed and worried if the opposing candidate wins on Nov. 4. But far more Obama supporters than McCain supporters say they would be angry and depressed if their candidate lost. Nearly four-in-ten Obama supporters (37%) say they would feel angry if McCain won, while 33% say they would feel depressed; among McCain supporters, just 18% say they would feel angry -- and 17% depressed -- if Obama wins.
Liberal Democratic supporters of Obama far more often than other Obama supporters say that, if McCain prevails, they would experience all of the emotions mentioned. More than half of liberal Democratic supporters of Obama (56%) say they would be angry if McCain wins, compared with 37% of all Obama supporters. The possibility of an Obama victory generates far less anger among conservative Republicans; just 20% say they would feel angry if Obama wins the election.
The survey finds that both campaigns are devoting the lion's share of their political outreach efforts to targeting voters in the political battleground states. Fully 62% of voters in battleground states say they have received mail about one or more of the candidates, while 52% have received pre-recorded telephone calls about the campaign. Far fewer voters in so-called red and blue states report being inundated with mail and robo-calls from the campaigns.
Campaign Outreach
In the battleground states, more McCain supporters than Obama supporters say they have received mail and pre-recorded phone calls about the campaign. About six-in-ten McCain supporters in the battleground states (58%) say they have received pre-recorded campaign calls, compared with 47% of Obama supporters in these politically contested states. Comparable percentages of the supporters of both candidates say they have received personal phone calls or been visited at home by someone talking about the campaign.
The survey finds that, in general, the allegations of possible voter fraud and vote suppression in the upcoming election have stirred only modest concern among voters. Just a third of all voters believe that the possibility of ineligible voters casting votes -- or of some voters voting multiple times -- represents a major problem. However, a substantial minority of Republican voters (45%) view this as a major problem; by comparison, just 23% of Democratic voters say the possibility of ineligible voters casting ballots is a major problem.
Somewhat fewer voters than in the last presidential election say they are very confident that their vote will be counted accurately (57% vs. 62%). Republicans are less confident in an accurate vote count than in October 2004 (66% now, 75% then). Still, more Republicans than Democrats (54%) say they are very confident their vote will be counted accurately.
The Internet and Campaign 2008
The internet is playing a large role in the current presidential campaign, both as a source of information for voters, as a means of communication between voters and political organizations, and among voters themselves. A solid majority of voters (59%) say they have sought out election content online or had some type of online communication about the campaign. Younger voters and Democrats are outpacing older voters and Republicans in using the internet for campaign information and activity. The use of online video has exploded, and significant numbers of voters have visited candidate websites and read blogs about the campaign. However, the use of social networking sites -- such as MySpace or Facebook -- for campaign information has not grown much since early in the campaign season.
Last December, just 18% of voters said they had exchanged emails about the campaign with friends or family; now 37% have done so. About a quarter of voters (26%) now say they have received an email from one of the political campaigns or from a political group or organization, up from 17% in December.
The proportion of voters who have gone online to view videos about the campaign has increased substantially since the start of the election season. Overall, 39% of voters say they have watched some type of campaign-related video online. In December, 24% had done so. There has been an increase in viewing of all types of campaign videos, including candidate speeches (28% now, up from 14%), interviews (27%, up from 14%), campaign commercials (21%, up from 12%), and candidate debates (23% now, 12% in December).
Nearly one-in-four voters (23%) have visited a candidate's website; in November, just 16% had done this. And 27% have read blogs about politics and the campaign. But social networking sites remain a small part of the overall story about the internet and the campaign. Somewhat more voters now say they visit such sites (26% vs. 17% in December), but just 8% say they have visited a social networking site for campaign information, up two points since last year. Just 4% have signed up as a "friend" of a candidate (vs. 3% in December).
Partisan Differences in Campaign Web Use
There is little partisan difference in the use of email for the campaign, with roughly similar levels of Democrats, Republicans, and independents saying they have traded campaign-related emails with friends and family, or received emails from political groups. However, liberal Democrats far outpace other groups of partisans, including moderate and conservative Democrats, with 58% having traded emails with family and friends and 43% having received emails from political organizations.
Though the overall numbers are small, significantly more Democrats (12%) than Republicans (7%) or independents (5%) have gotten campaign information from social networking sites. All of these differences are driven by the behavior of liberal Democrats, 58% of whom have visited any websites or blogs about the campaign; by comparison, fewer than 40% of other partisan groups have done so (conservative and moderate Democrats at 35%, moderate and liberal Republicans at 37% and conservative Republicans at 32%).
Democrats also outpace Republicans in viewing video about the campaign, with 43% of Democrats -- and 60% of liberal Democrats -- saying they have seen at least some type of election-related video, compared with 35% of Republicans who have done this. Independents (at 41%) are more like Democrats in this respect. More Democrats than Republicans report viewing each type of online video asked about in the survey.
Young Voters and the Internet
Young voters, who use the internet more than older voters, are much more likely to use the net for certain kinds of political information and activity. Roughly half of voters in all age groups -- except those ages 65 or older -- have sent or received emails about the election. Among those ages 65 or older, only a quarter have sent or received campaign-related emails.
Nearly two-thirds of voters under age 30 (65%) have watched a campaign-related video online, and almost as many (59%) have read blogs, visited candidate websites, or used social networking sites. About half of young voters report having watched speeches (48%), interviews (47%) or the debates (47%) online; slightly fewer (36%) have watched campaign commercials on the web. More than one-third of older voters, including 41% of those ages 30 to 49 and 34% of those ages 50 to 64, have watched some type of video.
Political and campaign blogs have emerged as a popular internet destination for young voters, but significant minorities of older voters report reading them as well. Among those under age 30, 42% have visited blogs, as have 30% of voters ages 30 to 49 and 24% of Baby Boomers ages 50 to 64. About one-in-ten older voters (9%) have read political or campaign blogs.
Social networking sites were cited as sources of campaign information and activity by many young voters in December, as the primary season was heating up. But the use of such sites for political purposes does not appear to have grown very much since then.
Social networking sites remain a source of information for many of the youngest voters; a third of those ages 18-24 say they have gotten campaign information from such sites. Far smaller percentages of older voters have done this. Notably, the proportion of the youngest voters who have gotten campaign information from social networking sites has not increased since December; at that time, 37% of 18-24 year-olds said they received campaign information from such sites.