7/31/2019 Gallup Issue Research 1996-2012

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Compiled by: Sonal Mittal

10/19/12

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IMPORTANT VOTER ISSUES AS ADDRESSED ON PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

 WEBSITES, 1996 - 2012

1.  ELECTION 2012

•  Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/156347/americans-next-president-prioritize-

 jobs-corruption.aspx 

•  Unaddressed issues:

o  (2) Reducing corruption in the federal government

§  Searching both candidates’ platforms for positions on corruption in

the federal government yielded zero results.

o  (9) Overcoming political gridlock in Washington

§  Pres. Obama: Press releases found on the candidate’s website

acknowledged political gridlock in Washington and suggested

opponent’s position contributed to existing political gridlock.

Searching the candidate’s platform yielded no positions on the

issue.

§  Gov. Romney: Searching the candidate’s platform for “gridlock”

and “bipartisan” yielded no results acknowledging political

gridlock in Washington or positions on the issue. 

1 Each table list the top ten issues of importance to voters in the given election year. For

each issue, it offers each candidate’s rough ranking of that issue based on order of 

appearance and relative prominence in the candidate’s online platform.

Issue1 Gallup Obama Romney

Creating good jobs 1 1 1, 2

Reducing corruption in the federal

government2 - -

Reducing the federal budget deficit 3 2 7

Dealing with terrorism and other

international threats4 5 3

Ensuring the long-term stability of 

Social Security and Medicare5 3 5, 6

Improving the nation’s public schools 6 4 9

Setting high moral standards for the

nation7 5 10

Making healthcare available and

affordable8 3 4

Overcoming political gridlock in

Washington9 - -

Making college education available and

affordable10 4 9

Taxes - 2 8

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•  Issues addressed differently:2 

o  (3) Setting high moral standards for the nation

§  Pres. Obama: the platform does not include sweeping

commitments to “moral standards.” However, the platform

prominently features sections on “Equal Rights”—supporting

LGBT issues, same-sex marriage, and equal pay for women—and

“Women’s Issues”—supporting protection of women’s access to

contraception and choice.

§  Gov. Romney: the platform includes a section titled “Values,”

which includes the candidate’s positions on abortion, stem cell

research, and marriage.

2.  ELECTION 2008

•  Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/104320/Iraq-Economy-Top-Issues-Voters.aspx 

•  No issues left unaddressed.

•  Issues addressed differently:

o  (4) Corruption in government:

§  Sen. Obama: the then-Senator’s platform promised to “centralize

ethics and lobbying information for voters,” “require independent

monitoring of lobbying laws and ethics rules,” and “close the

revolving door on former and future employers.”

§  Sen. McCain: the Senator’s platform included commitments to

“seal the pork barrel,” “stop the revolving door and restore ethics,”

and “enforce prohibitions on corporate and union contributions tofederal political parties” to “limit opportunities for corruption.”

§  Then-Senator Obama offered positions on transparency and

lobbying while Senator McCain addressed lobbying, earmarks, and

campaign finance/ corporate money in politics.

2 I included this heading to clarify when two candidates addressed an issue in completely

different terms, potentially failing to address the underlying concern of voters. 

Issue Gallup Obama McCain

The economy 1 1 1

The situation in Iraq 2 8 2

Education 3 2 4

Corruption in government 4 4 7

Healthcare 5 6 3

Energy, including gas prices 6 3 5

Terrorism 7 7 11

Social Security 8 9 1

The federal budget deficit 9 18 1

Moral values 10 16,17 6

Taxes - 10

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o  (10) Moral values:

§  Sen. Obama: the then-Senator’s platform included sections on

reconciling faith and politics, family support, and volunteering/

service to country.

§  Sen. McCain: the Senator’s platform included commitments to

preserve the sanctity of life and marriage, protecting children from

online predators, and addressing the moral concerns of stem cell

research.

3.  ELECTION 2004

•  Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/9337/economy-terrorism-top-issues-2004-

election-vote.aspx. See below “Survey Methods” for table comparable to 2008 and

2012 tables. 

•  No issues left unaddressed.

•  No issues addressed differently.

Issue Gallup Kerry Bush

The economy 1 3 1

Terrorism 2 8 5

Creating American jobs 3 3 1

Protecting American jobs 4 3 1

The situation in Iraq 5 9 5

Education 6 4 3

Healthcare 7 7 4

The federal budget deficit 8 3 1

Social Security 9 4 9

Taxes 10 3 1

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4.  ELECTION 2000 

•  Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/2500/election-2000-where-public-stands-

social-security.aspx)

Issue Gallup Gore3 Bush

Education 1 4 1The economy 2 3 7, 8

Health care 3 7 6

Social Security 4 9 3

Handling the budget surplus 5 1 6

Medicare 6 8 5

Taxes 7 9 2

Creating opportunities for better-paying

 jobs8 3 7

The environment 9 5 6

National defense 10 2 4

The gun issue - 6 6

•  No issues left unaddressed.

•  No issues addressed significantly differently.

5.  ELECTION 1996:

•  Unable to find comparable Gallup poll online. 

•  Unable to find Clinton-Gore campaign website from 1996.

•  http://www.dolekemp96.org/agenda/issues/issues.html

3 The rankings for VP Gore and Gov. Bush should not be taken as a reflection of importance

since the campaign websites from this era listed the issues in a drop-down menu in

alphabetical order.