Poll Finds Racial Gap Over Excitement of Campaign

An Associated Press-Yahoo News poll found differences in how engaged various groups of voters are in the presidential campaign.

A RACIAL GAP

In the AP-Yahoo News poll conducted in June, 49 percent of blacks said they are excited by the election campaign, compared to 16 percent of whites. Enthusiasm by African-Americans has also grown far more: 32 percent more African-Americans and just 6 percent more whites say they are excited now than said so in an AP-Yahoo News survey in November.

DIVIDES AMONG WHITES

Whites who say they are not excited by the campaign back Republican John McCain by a 2-to-1 margin. Whites who say the election is exciting lean toward Democrat Barack Obama, by 2-to-1. Overall, 46 percent of whites said they were interested in the presidential race in November while just 41 percent say so now.

POLITICS CAN BE A DRAG

Independents are more bored with the campaign than any other group of people—28 percent of them say so. {snip}

ONLINE POLITICAL ACTIVITY IS LIMITED . . .

Between six in 10 and nine in 10 say they have never used the Internet for politics, varying by activity. Obama supporters are slightly likelier than McCain’s to go online for politics. Overall, the most active tend to be younger, better-educated and higher-earning people. {snip}

. . . WHILE OTHER POLITICAL ACTIVITY REMAINS LOW

Few say they have engaged in any recent political activity. {snip}