Poll: Voters Split on Democrats, GOP

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Posted 8:52AM on Sunday, November 3, 2002

The CBS-New York Times poll released Saturday night showed the economy and jobs were the top issues on voters minds when deciding who to vote for Tuesday, followed by terrorism and national defense - considered one category in the survey - and then by education. While Democrats have been working to make the economy the main issue, that may not have the effect of helping Democratic chances in the elections. When asked which party they think is more likely to make sure the country is prosperous, they were evenly split with about four in 10 picking each party. Voters favored Republicans on the issues of fighting terrorism and keeping military defenses strong. They favored Democrats on the issues of Social Security and prescription drugs. Their view of President Bush's handling of the economy was mixed, with people about evenly split on whether they approve or disapprove. Almost six in 10, 57 percent, said they thought the president should be paying more attention to the economy. About the same number said the Republican Party is more interested in protecting the interests of big corporations, while more than half thought the Democratic Party was more interested in protecting the interests of ordinary people. But Democrats haven't convinced voters that they have a clear plan for the country if they gain control of Congress. Half said the Democrats don't have a clear plan and almost a third said they do. Voters were about evenly split on whether or not Republicans have a clear plan if they take control of Congress. When likely voters were asked which party's candidate they would support in congressional elections, they leaned Republican by 47-40 - slightly more than the error margin for that group. The poll suggested voter enthusiasm for the elections is generally low, suggesting a light turnout - which is typical for midterm elections. Anxieties about the possibility of another terrorist attack in the next few months remain high, with three-fourths saying such an attack is likely. Four in 10 said Bush has a clear plan for the campaign against terrorism, while half said he's just reacting to events as they occur. The poll of 1,018 adults was taken Oct. 27-31 and has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points, larger for subgroups.