Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Confirmed: Polls mean little at this point

I came across this interesting graph today that shows voter interest at various stages of presidential campaigns since 1988. The data was compiled by Pew Research. The graph was created by The Huffington Post to illustrate the irrelevance of "horse race" polling 22 months from the general election. According to Pew, folks don't start tuning in until after the Iowa caucuses.


Someone might want to send this to Mike Huckabee.

I apologize for linking to The Huffington Post. If you're interested, the article is actually fair, and quite interesting. It can be read HERE

7 comments:

Pablo said...

Good find! Mike Huckabee is a likeable guy who has high name recognition. Whether that translates into votes or not is another story.

Pablo said...

Oh, and RW, there is an old saying among lawyers that nothing matters but what is between the four corners of the document. It really doesn't matter whether your sources are the Huffington Post or Red State. What matters is the argument that is given.

Right Wingnut said...

The 2008 election captured the interest of the electorate more so than any other election since 1988. However, roughly 40% responded that they were NOT paying close attention in the month leading up to the election. My guess is that a dispropotionate number of the "uninterested" voted for Obama.

David said...

I agree that There is much time between now and the primaries. I also believe that one needs to work on name recognition between now and then, if you are not a well known figure.

All these potential voters don't focus all at once, it is a cumulative process that peaks at the Iowa Caucus.

Anonymous said...

These polls mean plenty to those candidates who are winning them.

We're in a media world. If it appears you are leading, then you are leading.

And it all has to start somewhere and SOMETIME.

zeke

BOSMAN said...

They may mean nothing, but they are great when your favorite candidate is on top.

Revolution 2012 said...

I don't think there as important now as later. But they certainly are an early indication of who the REAL players will be.