Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008 - December 2007
This December 2007 tracking poll finds finds that Iraq continues to top the list of issues that the public wants to hear presidential candidates talk about, with more than a third (35%) naming the war as one of the top two issues in an open-ended question. Health care (30%) ranks second, followed by the economy (21%) and immigration (17%).
Health care ranks second behind Iraq for Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike. However, while health ranks clearly ahead of the economy and immigration for Democrats, it is more tightly packed with these issues for Republicans.
When asked about the issues that will affect their vote for president in 2008, the list of issues is similar to those the public wants to hear candidates discuss – Iraq (29%), followed by health care and the economy (tied at 21 percent), with immigration (12%) somewhat further behind. Iraq is the top voting issue for Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike.
The poll also examines the specific aspects of health care that the public wants candidates to address, as well as their perceptions of the presidential candidates on health issues.
This latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008, the fifth in a series, was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation. A nationally representative random sample of 1,221 adults was interviewed by telephone between November 28 and December 9, 2007. The margin of sampling error for the survey is plus or minus 3 percentage points; for results based on subgroups, the sampling error is higher.