Polling

Interpreting a poll Who conducted the poll? How was it conducted? When was it conducted? How many people were sampled? Is the margin of error reported?

Different uses for election polls Benchmark polls Trial heat polls

"If the 2008 Democratic presidential primary were held today, whom would you support if the candidates are [see below]?" Hillary Clinton40 John Edwards16 John Kerry15 Joe Biden7 Wesley Clark4 Evan Bayh3 Bill Richardson3 Mark Warner2 Tom Vilsack- Unsure10

"If the 2008 Republican presidential primary were held today, whom would you support if the candidates are [see below]?" Condoleezza Rice22 Rudy Giuliani22 John McCain22 Newt Gingrich5 Mitt Romney4 George Pataki2 Bill Frist2 George Allen2 Chuck Hagel1 Tom Tancredo1 Sam Brownback- Unsure17

Field Poll, April , 695 registered California voters If the 2004 presidential election were being held now, who would you most likely support? Joe Lieberman 22% John Kerry 16% Richard Gephardt 12% Carol Moseley Braun 4% Al Sharpton 4% John Edwards 3% Bob Graham 2% Dennis Kucinich 1% Undecided 29%

Quinnipiac University poll, 449 Democratic New York voters, February 4-10, 2003 If Hillary Clinton did not seek the Democratic nomination in 2004, whom would you support: Lieberman: 27% Kerry: 17% Sharpton: 16% Gephardt: 12% Edwards: 19% Dean 4% Don’t know: 15%

Quinnipiac University poll, 449 Democratic New York voters, February 4-10, 2003 If Hillary Clinton sought the Democratic nomination in 2004, whom would you support: Clinton: 50% Lieberman: 15% Kerry: 9% Gephardt 5% Edwards: 5% Dean 3% Sharpton 3% Don’t know: 9%

Different uses for election polls Benchmark polls Trial heat polls Tracking polls Exit polls

Problems with polls Many polls, different results Who isn’t polled Question wording

Other poll-like resources Focus groups Push polls