Politics

Poll: Only one percent of Stewart ralliers plan to vote Republican

Matthew Boyle Investigative Reporter
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Only 1 percent of those in attendance at Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s rally Saturday plan to vote Republican in Tuesday’s midterm elections, according to a poll by Lake Research Partners and Revolution Messaging.

Out of the 456 respondents in a straw poll at the Comedy Central political duo’s “Sanity or Fear” event, 86 percent of respondents said they plan to vote Democrat on Tuesday, 8 percent said they’re voting “other” and 5 percent said they’re not voting at all. None of those polled said they were undecided or didn’t know.

The poll shows the audience breaking from the national mood with abnormally high levels of approval for President Barack Obama. Of those polled, 90 percent said they approve of Obama, with 56 percent saying they strongly approve and 34 percent saying they somewhat approve. The Real Clear Politics average for late October shows 45.9 percent of Americans approve of Obama and 48.6 percent disapprove.

The poll matched what most of the attendees The Daily Caller talked to at the rally said Saturday. Attendees told TheDC that they plan to vote Democrat, down the line, even if they don’t know who the Democratic candidate is.

The poll also showed that attendees were largely in favor of having the Obama administration spend more to try to create jobs, with 87 percent saying they would favor Obama investing in programs to put Americans back to work. Only 13 percent answered that they think Obama should focus on cutting spending.

Only 25 percent of those at the rally indicated that they are more fired up this year than in 2008, with 39 percent saying they’re less enthusiastic and 36 percent saying they have about the same level of enthusiasm.

On the issues, just 11 percent of those polled said improving health care was a priority, whereas 41 percent said the president should focus on jobs. Education reform, environmental policy and ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (in that order) ranked below jobs as a priority but higher than health care reform.