All Publications on Election '12

Ask the Expert: The Forces at Work in the 2012 Elections
21 Feb 12Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, answers questions about the 2012 presidential campaign so far and some of the trends that will shape this year’s congressional elections.
Pew Research Center

Public More Optimistic about Economy, But Concerns Persist
Obama, Economy Now Better Rated by Independents
16 Feb 12Optimism about the national economy has rebounded in the first two months of this year after sagging in 2011. The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press also finds an uptick in Barack Obama's job rating.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Public Divided Over Birth Control Insurance Mandate
Religious, Partisan and Gender Differences
14 Feb 12Americans are closely divided over whether religiously-affiliated institutions should be given an exemption if they object to a proposed federal rule requiring employers to cover birth control as part of their health care benefits.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Santorum Catches Romney in GOP Race
Obama Leads Both in General Election Matchups
13 Feb 12Rick Santorum’s has pulled into a virtual tie with Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican presidential nomination in polling conducted Feb. 8-12. Barack Obama holds sizable leads over Santorum, Romney and Newt Gingrich in general election matchups.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Cable Leads the Pack as Campaign News Source
Twitter, Facebook Play Very Modest Roles
7 Feb 12Cable news is now the top regular source for campaign news. The long-term decline in the number of Americans getting campaign news from local and network TV news, and local newspapers, steepened this year. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are used for campaign news by a relatively limited audience.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Trends in Party Identification of Religious Groups
Jewish Support for GOP Rises
2 Feb 12The share of voters identifying with or leaning toward the GOP has either grown or held steady in every major religious group, according to a new analysis by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Low-Income Republicans Say Government Does Too Little for Poor People
2 Feb 12Mitt Romney’s emphatic statement that he is focused solely on the problems of middle class Americans, not the poor, may not sit well with most of the lower income voters within his own party.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Religion and the 2012 Florida Republican Primary
1 Feb 12In his commanding win in the 2012 Florida Republican primary, Mitt Romney received strong support from Catholics and from voters who do not describe themselves as white born-again/evangelical Christians, according to results from the National Election Pool exit poll.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

GOP Voters Continue to Give Field Subpar Ratings
30 Jan 12Republicans remain unimpressed with their party’s presidential field. More than half (52%) rate the candidates as only fair or poor. More voters also say Barack Obama understands the problems of average Americans than say so about Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

It's About Fairness, Not Class Warfare
27 Jan 12Pew Research Center President Andrew Kohut writes in the New York Times while Americans are hearing more and more about class conflict, there is little indication that they are increasingly divided along these lines. Their concerns are about policies that give everyone a fair shot.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Gingrich and Romney Both Face Mixed Portrayal
24 Jan 12As Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney took their battle for the Republican presidential nomination to Florida for its Jan. 31 primary, both of them arrive in the state with portrayals in the news media that are almost equally mixed
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Latinos in the 2012 Election: Florida
Factsheet
23 Jan 12Latinos now make up 13.1% of the Florida's 11.2 million registered voters. Democrats account for 564,513 Latino registered voters while 452,619 Latino voters are Republicans.
Pew Hispanic Center

Public Priorities: Deficit Rising, Terrorism Slipping
Tough Stance on Iran Endorsed
23 Jan 12As the State of the Union approaches, the economy continues to be the public's top priority. Fully 86% say that strengthening the economy should be a top priority for the president and Congress this year, and 82% rate improving the job situation as a top priority.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Economy Fades as Election Intensifies
19 Jan 12The weakening economy was the most-covered news story in 2011, but it has now been overtaken by coverage of the presidential campaign.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Obama: Weak Job Ratings, But Positive Personal Image
Michelle Obama’s Popularity Undiminished
19 Jan 12Barack Obama begins his fourth year in office facing a struggling economy, an unhappy public, and a lower job approval rating than most of his recent predecessors at a comparable point in their presidencies. However, Obama he still possesses a positive personal image with voters.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Campaign 2012: Too Negative, Too Long, Dull
‘Bain Capital’ Story Seen as Important
18 Jan 12Half of Americans say the presidential campaign has been too negative and 55% of the public describe the 2012 contest so far as dull. Nearly six-in-ten (57%) describe the campaign as dull.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Campaign 2012 and the Media
The Storyline Heading into South Carolina
18 Jan 12After winning the first two nominating contests, Mitt Romney is getting more negative news coverage heading into Saturday's South Carolina primary than he has at any time so far in the GOP race, according to the first edition of an ongoing analysis of election news by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Unpopular Nationally, Romney Holds Solid GOP Lead
Paul Polls at 18% as Third-Party Candidate
18 Jan 12Mitt Romney maintains a substantial lead nationally in the race for the GOP nomination. Yet his image among all voters has slipped since November and he runs no better in a general election matchup with Barack Obama than he did back then.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Super PACs Having Negative Impact, Say Voters Aware of ‘Citizens United’ Ruling
17 Jan 12Most voters who are aware of the 2010 Supreme Court decision allowing corporations and individuals to spend as much money as they want on political advertising say the impact has been negative.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Few GOP Voters Would Be Swayed by Endorsements
13 Jan 12Political endorsements by prominent Republicans would provide little help for GOP candidates in the primaries and might be more of a liability than a benefit in a general election campaign.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Many Voters Unaware of Basic Facts about GOP Candidates
12 Jan 12Many voters do not know basic facts about the Republican candidates running for president or the early primary calendar, such as where Mitt Romney served as governor.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Mormons in America
Certain in Their Beliefs, Uncertain of Their Place in Society
12 Jan 12A new nationally representative survey focused exclusively on Mormons explores their religious beliefs and practices, political ideology, views on moral and social issues, and attitudes toward faith, family life, the media and society.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Religion and the 2012 New Hampshire Republican Primary
11 Jan 12 Mitt Romney -- who won the overall New Hampshire vote by a double-digit margin -- was the winner among born-again evangelical Christians as well as among non-evangelical voters.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

GOP Voters Still Unenthused About Presidential Field
Romney Ahead Nationally, Santorum Gains Ground
9 Jan 12Republican voters continue to express mixed views of the party's presidential field. Roughly half (51%) of Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters say the candidates are excellent or good, while 44% say they are only fair or poor. Mitt Romney holds a sizable lead in the race for the GOP nomination.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Six Telling Findings from the Iowa Caucuses
4 Jan 12The Iowa caucuses produced six small but significant indicators of the dynamics that drove the race.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

News Coverage Index: The Santorum Surge Story Comes True
4 Jan 12In the days before Iowans finally caucused, the news media were most focused on the shifting horse race that foreshadowed Rick Santorum's strong late showing, according to an analysis of the leading themes in the Iowa press narrative by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

As Deportations Rise to Record Levels, Most Latinos Oppose Obama’s Policy
President’s Approval Rating Drops, but Obama Has a Big Lead over 2012 GOP Rivals
28 Dec 11Latinos disapprove by a margin of more than two-to-one of the way the Obama administration is handling deportations of unauthorized immigrants, according to a new national survey of Latino adults by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.
Pew Hispanic Center

In 2007, Mood Just Beginning to Sour, Democrats Better Regarded
Public Opinion Four Years Ago
20 Dec 11As another presidential election year approaches, the political and economic landscape has changed in a number of ways since four years ago. The public’s mood was not very good, but still a lot better than it is today.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Frustration with Congress Could Hurt Republican Incumbents
GOP Base Critical of Party’s Washington Leadership
15 Dec 11Public discontent with Congress has reached record levels, and the implications for incumbents in next year’s elections could be stark. The Republican Party is taking more of the blame than the Democrats for a do-nothing Congress.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Gingrich Leads, But Likely GOP Primary Voters Have Not Ruled Out Romney
Tepid Support for Both Leading Candidates
13 Dec 11Newt Gingrich has a substantial lead over Mitt Romney among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who say they are likely to vote in GOP primaries or caucuses. But a new survey finds that neither Gingrich nor Romney is drawing much in the way of strong support.
Pew Research Center

Twitter and the Campaign
How the Discussion on Twitter Varies from Blogs and News Coverage; Ron Paul’s Twitter Triumph
8 Dec 11The political conversation on Twitter is markedly different than that on blogs—and both are decidedly different than the political narrative presented by the mainstream press, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism that analyzed more than 20 million tweets, the online conversation and traditional news coverage about the campaign.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

More Now Disagree with Tea Party – Even in Tea Party Districts
29 Nov 11Since the 2010 midterm elections, the Tea Party has not only lost support nationwide, but also in the congressional districts represented by members of the House Tea Party Caucus. And this year, the image of the Republican Party has declined even more sharply in these GOP-controlled districts than across the country at large.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Romney’s Mormon Faith Likely a Factor in Primaries, Not in a General Election
Religion and the 2012 Election
23 Nov 11About half of all voters, and 60% of evangelical Republicans, know that Mitt Romney is a Mormon. The former Massachusetts governor's religion has implications for his nomination run, but not for the general election should he be nominated as his party's standard bearer.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Obama Job Approval Edges Up, GOP Contest Remains Fluid
Lackluster Ratings for Republican Field Continue
17 Nov 11President Barack Obama's job rating has improved modestly over the past month, although few Americans approve of the way he is handling the economy. In addition, a majority of Americans continue to hold a favorable personal opinion of Obama. This is not the case for his main GOP rivals, whom he mostly bests in test election measures.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Religion and Politics: Profiles of the 2012 President Candidates and Their Beliefs
16 Nov 11Profiles of the religious backgrounds and beliefs of the 2012 presidential candidates.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

The Generation Gap and the 2012 Election
Angry Silents, Disengaged Millennials
3 Nov 11In the last four national elections, generation has mattered more in American elections than it has in decades. This continues to be true as voters look ahead toward the 2012 general election. In a contest between President Obama and Mitt Romney, there is a 20-point gap in support for Obama between Millennials and the over-65 Silent generation.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

The Media Primary
How News Media and Blogs Have Eyed the Presidential Contenders During the First Phase of the 2012 Race
17 Oct 11Rick Perry received the most favorable coverage of any candidate for president during the first five months of the race, but now Herman Cain is enjoying that distinction. Meanwhile Barack Obama has had the roughest treatment, according to a new survey which combines traditional research methods and computer algorithmic technology to code the level and tone of news coverage.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

GOP Candidates Hardly Household Names
Interest and Coverage On Par with 2008 Campaign
5 Oct 11Smaller percentages of Americans can name, without being prompted, the leading candidates in this year's Republican presidential race than in previous GOP races. At this stage of the campaign in the 1996, 2000 and 2008 campaigns, significantly more Americans could name Bob Dole, George W. Bush, and Rudolph Giuliani than they could for Mitt Romney or Rick Perry.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

More Now See GOP as Very Conservative
Views of Parties' Ideologies
12 Sep 11An increasing number of voters see the Republican Party as very conservative, while slightly fewer see the Democratic Party as very liberal compared to 2010.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Obama Leadership Image Takes a Hit, GOP Ratings Decline
Continued Dissatisfaction with Republican Field
25 Aug 11For the first time in his presidency, significantly more Americans disapprove than approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president and and the margin of strong disapproval over strong approval has widened. But the public is also profoundly discontented with the political leadership of both parties, angry at the federal government and dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Are Republicans Ready Now for a Mormon President?
The Polls Show Trouble
5 Jul 11An important group within the Republican base, white evangelical Protestants, is more uncomfortable with the idea of a Mormon candidate than are other Republicans.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology
4 May 11Political attitudes have become more doctrinaire at both ends of the ideological spectrum. Yet at the same time, the growing center of the political spectrum is increasingly diverse. As an in-depth guide to the political landscape, the 2011 Political Typology sorts Americans into cohesive groups based on their values, political beliefs and party affiliation.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press