Poll: Washington

This poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. of Washington, D.C. from October 31 through November 2, 2006.  A total of 625 registered Washington State voters were interviewed statewide by telephone. All stated they were likely to vote in the November general election.  

Those interviewed were selected by the random variation of the last four digits of telephone numbers. 

A cross-section of exchanges was utilized in order to ensure an accurate reflection of the state.  Quotas were assigned to reflect voter turn-out by county.

The margin for error, according to standards customarily used by statisticians, is no more than plus or minus 4 percentage points. This means that there is a 95 percent probability that the "true" figure would fall within that range if the entire population were sampled.  The margin for error is higher for any subgroup, such as a gender or regional grouping.

Do you recognize the name ______?

(IF YES) Do you have a favorable, unfavorable or neutral opinion of ________?

	MARIA CANTWELL	MIKE MCGAVICK
FAVORABLE	52%	40%
UNFAVORABLE	32%	32%
NEUTRAL	15%	25%
DON'T RECOGNIZE	1%	3%

If the 2006 election for Washington’s U.S. Senate seat were held today, would you vote for:

CANTWELL	54%
MCGAVICK	38%
OTHER	1%
UNDECIDED	7%

Will your vote for U.S. Senate mainly be:

FOR CANDIDATE	77%
AGAINST OPPONENT	21%
NOT SURE	2%

Do you approve or disapprove of George W. Bush’s overall job performance as President? (Is that, strongly approve/disapprove or somewhat approve/disapprove?)

STRONGLY APPROVE	24%
SOMEWHAT APPROVE	15%	39%
SOMEWHAT DISAPPROVE	9%
STRONGLY DISAPPROVE	50%	59%
NOT SURE	2%

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?  Is that, strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove?

STRONGLY APPROVE	2%
SOMEWHAT APPROVE	23%	25%
SOMEWHAT DISAPPROVE	27%
STRONGLY DISAPPROVE	40%	67%
NOT SURE	7%

Which ONE of the following issues will be MOST important in determining your vote for U.S. Senate this year:

IRAQ	31%
TERRORISM/SECURITY	16%
HEALTH CARE	12%
TAXES/GOVT SPNDG	10%
ECONOMY/JOBS	10%
IMMIGRATION	9%
MORAL/FAMILY	6%
OTHER/DK	6%
GAS PRICE/ENERGY	0.3%

Generally speaking, would you say things in the country are heading in the right direction, or are they are off on the wrong track?

RIGHT DIRECTION	37%
WRONG TRACK	55%
NOT SURE	8%

Do you approve or disapprove of the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq?  (Is that strongly approve/disapprove or somewhat approve/disapprove?)

STRONGLY APPROVE	24%
SOMEWHAT APPROVE	15%	39%
SOMEWHAT DISAPPROVE	11%
STRONGLY DISAPPROVE	49%	60%
NOT SURE	1%

In your view, did either of the candidates for U.S. Senate attack the other unfairly?

NO	25%
CANTWELL DID	13%
MCGAVICK DID	10%
BOTH DID	33%
NOT SURE	19%

What is your current official party voter registration? Are you registered to vote as a:

DEMOCRAT	38%
REPUBLICAN	32%
INDEPENDENT	31%

Would you describe your personal political views as liberal, moderate, or conservative?

LIBERAL	25%
MODERATE	39%
CONSERVATIVE	35%
DK/REF	2%

What is your age?

18-34	15%
35-49	31%
50-64	31%
65+	22%
REF	1%

Which of the following best describes your race or ethnicity?

WHITE	92%
BLACK	3%
HISPANIC	4%
OTHER	1%
REFUSED	1%

SEX:

MALE	49%
FEMALE	52%

REGION:

KING COUNTY	32%
SNOHOMISH COUNTY	10%
PIERCE COUNTY	11%
WESTERN WASH	26%
EASTERN WASH	20%