[Battleground Soundings in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin: A Quinnipiac University / washingtonpost.com / Wall Street Journal Poll

Sept. 2008: Poll Highlights | Colorado | Michigan | Minnesota | Wisconsin

Colorado Survey -- October 2008

From October 3 to 7 (pre-presidential debate), Quinnipiac University surveyed 997 likely voters in Colorado; the survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent. And then from October 8 to 12 (post-presidential debate), Quinnipiac University surveyed 1088 likely voters in Colorado; the survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.0 percent. The survey was conducted in partnership with washingtonpost.com and The Wall Street Journal.

1. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and John McCain the Republican, for whom would you vote? (If undecided q1) As of today, do you lean more toward Obama or McCain? This table includes "Leaners".

                              LIKELY VOTERS...........................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ...................................
                                                                        IMPQ8
COLORADO             Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom    Econ

Obama                52%      52%     6%    93%    51%    49%    54%    57%
McCain               43       43     89      4     40     47     38     38
SMONE ELSE(VOL)       1        1      1      -      2      1      1      -
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL)      -        -      -      -      -      -      -      -
DK/NA                 3        5      3      3      6      3      7      5

                              WHITE..........................................
                                     NoColl College              BrnAgn
                              Tot    Degree Degree Men    Wom    Evngl  Cath

Obama                         48%    41%    57%    47%    48%    18%    41%
McCain                        47     53     40     50     44     78     52
SMONE ELSE(VOL)                1      1      -      1      1      1      -
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL)               -      -      -      -      -      -      -
DK/NA                          4      5      3      3      6      4      7


TREND: If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates
were Barack Obama the Democrat and John McCain the Republican, for whom would you
vote?(If undecided) As of today, do you lean more toward Obama or McCain?
This table includes "Leaners".  (* pre debate, ** post debate)

                     LIKELY VOTERS.................................
                     Oct 14  Oct 14  Sep 23  Aug 24  Jul 24  Jun 26
COLORADO             2008**  2008*   2008    2008    2008    2008

Obama                52      52      49      46      44      49
McCain               43      43      45      47      46      44
SMONE ELSE(VOL)       1       1       1       2       3       2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL)      -       -       -       -       -       -
DK/NA                 5       3       5       5       7       5

1a. Is your mind made up, or do you think you might change your mind before the election?

                                                                       
                     LIKELY VOTERS................
                     CANDIDATE CHOICE GIVEN Q1....
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE.........
                                     CANDCHOICE Q1
CO                   Tot      Tot    Obama  McCain

Made up              89%      87%    89%    85%
Might change         10       11     10     13
DK/NA                 1        2      1      2



2a. If the election for United States Senator were being held today, and the candidates were Mark Udall the Democrat and Bob Shaffer the Republican, for whom would you vote?(If undecided q2a) As of today, do you lean more toward Udall or Shaffer? This table includes "Leaners".

                     SENATE LIKELY VOTERS..............................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE .............................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Udall                48%      54%    11%    91%    55%    51%    57%
Shaffer              43       40     85      3     37     43     37
SMONE ELSE(VOL)       -        1      -      1      1      -      1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL)      -        -      -      -      -      -      -
DK/NA                 9        6      3      5      7      6      6

2. Is your opinion of -- Barack Obama favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Favorable            57%      58%    18%    93%    60%    56%    60%
Unfavorable          35       35     76      3     32     38     32
Hvn't hrd enough      5        4      4      3      6      4      5
REFUSED               3        2      2      1      2      2      2


3. Is your opinion of -- John McCain favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Favorable            54%      51%    87%    19%    51%    54%    48%
Unfavorable          38       41      7     73     39     40     42
Hvn't hrd enough      4        6      4      6      8      5      7
REFUSED               4        2      1      3      3      2      3

4. Is your opinion of -- Joe Biden favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom
Favorable            52%      54%    23%    82%    53%    55%    52%
Unfavorable          26       25     54      3     22     28     23
Hvn't hrd enough     19       19     20     14     23     15     23
REFUSED               3        2      4      1      2      2      3

5. Is your opinion of -- Sarah Palin favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Favorable            45%      39%    83%     6%    35%    42%    37%
Unfavorable          42       47      6     82     47     46     48
Hvn't hrd enough     12       13     10     11     16     11     14
REFUSED               1        1      1      1      2      1      2

6. Do you think Joe Biden is qualified to be Vice President?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Yes                  81%      82%    73%    93%    81%    86%    79%
No                   11       11     21      1     12     11     12
DK/NA                 8        6      6      6      7      3      9


7. Do you think Sarah Palin is qualified to be Vice President?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Yes                  46%      44%    85%     9%    44%    46%    42%
No                   47       51     12     87     50     50     52
DK/NA                 7        5      3      4      6      4      5


8. Which of the following will be the single most important issue in your vote in the election for President this year? (READ OPTIONS)

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Terrorism             8%       8%    21%     0%     5%     8%     8%
The war in Iraq      12       10      9     13      8     10     10
The economy          49       54     46     58     59     54     54
Illegal immigration   5        3      4      3      2      2      4
Energy policy         9        9      9      8      9     11      7
Health care          10        9      5     12      8      8     10
SOMETHING ELSE(VOL)   5        4      6      2      5      5      4
DK/NA                 4        3      1      4      4      2      5


9. (Post Debate) Did you watch the second televised Presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain that was on Tuesday night?

                     LIKELY VOTERS.........................
                     POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Yes                  75%    72%    76%    77%    77%    73%
No                   24     28     24     23     22     26
DK/NA                 -      -      -      -      -      -

                     POST DEBATE ..........................
MI                   Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom
Yes                  74%    72%    75%    77%    77%    72%
No                   26     28     25     23     23     28
DK/NA                 -      -      -      -      -      -

10. (Post Debate) Did this debate change how you will vote?

                     LIKELY VOTERS...........................................
                     POST DEBATE ............................................
CO                   Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom    Watched Debate

Yes                   3%     1%     2%     4%     2%     3%      3%
No                   86     85     89     85     87     86      96
DK/NA                11     14      9     11     11     11       1

11. (Post Debate) Who do you think did a better job in the debate - Barack Obama or John McCain?


                                                                             Union
CO                   Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom    Wht    His    HsHlds

Agree                58%    58%    59%    59%    60%    56%    57%    62%    59%
Disagree             39     41     37     38     38     40     40     34     36
DK/NA                 3      1      4      3      2      4      3      4      4

12. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as President?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Approve              26%      27%    63%     3%    19%    26%    28%
Disapprove           67       68     31     95     75     70     66
DK/NA                 6        4      6      1      6      3      5

13. In the nation as a whole, do you think economic conditions will get better or get worse in the next year?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Get better           39%      48%    59%    41%    44%    52%    43%
Get worse            47       41     31     44     48     38     44
STAY THE SAME(VOL)    4        3      2      5      2      4      3
DK/NA                10        8      8      9      6      6     11


14. In your state, do you think economic conditions will get better or worse in the next year?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Get better           46%      54%    62%    48%    52%    57%    50%
Get worse            42       35     26     39     39     34     36
STAY THE SAME(VOL)    6        4      5      5      3      2      6
DK/NA                 7        7      7      8      6      6      8

15. Thinking about your own personal financial situation, do you think you will be better or worse off economically in the next year?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Better off           46%      47%    58%    42%    46%    50%    44%
Worse off            32       32     22     36     36     33     30
SAME (VOL)           15       15     14     17     13     13     18
DK/NA                 6        6      6      6      5      3      8

16. Who do you think better understands the economy - Barack Obama or John McCain?

                                                                             Union
                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Obama                51%      51%     8%    89%    52%    49%    53%
McCain               36       39     83      4     35     43     34
DK/NA                13       11     10      7     13      9     13

17. Who do you think better understands foreign policy - Barack Obama or John McCain?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Obama                33%      34%     6%    65%    29%    33%    35%
McCain               61       58     92     24     61     62     54
DK/NA                 7        8      2     11     10      5     10

18. Do you think Barack Obama has shown effective leadership in dealing with the financial crisis facing the nation?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Yes                  45%      48%    22%    74%    45%    48%    48%
No                   46       44     71     17     45     47     41
DK/NA                 9        8      7      9     10      5     12

19. Do you think John McCain has shown effective leadership in dealing with the financial crisis facing the nation?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Yes                  38%      39%    68%    15%    37%    39%    39%
No                   54       54     25     79     55     57     51
DK/NA                 8        7      7      6      8      5     10

20. When it comes to the current problems in the financial markets, do you think the government is doing too much to help rescue financial firms, too little, or about the right amount?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Too much             53%      54%    61%    42%    61%    57%    51%
Too little           12       11      6     19      7      9     12
About right          26       28     27     29     27     29     27
DK/NA                 8        7      6      9      5      5     10

21. Do you approve or disapprove of the economic plan passed by Congress to deal with the nation's economic crisis?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

Approve              32%      34%    33%    37%    32%    36%    32%
Disapprove           53       54     58     48     57     57     52
DK/NA                15       12     10     15     11      8     17

22. (Colorado only) As you may know, there is a proposed state constitutional amendment on the November ballot. It says that the state shall not discriminate against or grant preferential treatment to any group or individual on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public contracting, or public education. Do you think that you will vote for or against this state constitutional amendment?

                     LIKELY VOTERS..................................
                     PreDeb   POST DEBATE ..........................
CO                   Tot      Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom

For                  62%      63%    63%    57%    69%    63%    62%
Against              19       21     20     26     16     22     20
DK/NA                19       16     17     17     15     15     18

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