Polls & Research

Democrats 2008: Hillary 43%, Obama 24%

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - In a three-person contest, many Democratic Party supporters in the United States select Hillary Rodham Clinton as their preferred presidential nominee in 2008, according to a poll by the New York Times and CBS News. 43 per cent of respondents would like to see the New York senator as their candidate, down five points since June.

Illinois senator Barack Obama is second with 24 per cent, followed by former North Carolina senator John Edwards with 16 per cent.

Earlier this month, former defence under-secretary Eric Edelman questioned Rodham Clinton's call to start planning for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, claiming it "reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq" and "unnerves the very same Iraqi allies we are asking to assume enormous personal risks." Rodham Clinton said she was "shocked by the time-worn tactic of once again impugning the patriotism of any of us who raise serious questions (about the Iraq war)."

In American elections, candidates require 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the White House. In November 2004, Republican George W. Bush earned a second term after securing 286 electoral votes from 31 states. Democratic nominee John Kerry received 252 electoral votes from 19 states and the District of Columbia.

Bush is ineligible for a third term in office. The next presidential election is scheduled for November 2008.

Polling Data

Suppose the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2008 comes down to a choice among Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. Who would you most like to see nominated—Clinton, Obama, Edwards, or would you rather see someone else nominated?
(Democratic primary voters only)