WRGW News Midterm Election Polls

On November 2^nd millions of Americans will go to the polls to cast their ballots in the 2010 Midterm Elections. For students here at the George Washington University, however, many have and will be mailing out absentee ballots. Over the course of the week beginning Sunday October 24^th, WRGW News conducted an unscientific poll of students here on campus, tabulating their opinions and how they will be voting in the upcoming election.

The surveys were dispersed among all undergraduate students, 169 in total, and of those students, 51 percent identified themselves as Democrats, 15 percent consider themselves Republicans, while 34 percent are independent, nonaligned, or none-of-the-above.

Much has been made recently about an enthusiasm gap among Democrats and Republicans. Our polling shows that 80 percent of Republicans will be voting, with the Democrats trail five points behind at 75 percent. Interestingly, only 60 percent of Independent voters will be casting ballots.

Party loyalty remains strong; 98 percent of Democrats will be casting a ballot for their party, while 95 percent of Republicans will remain loyal too.

The most telling results, however, comes from the Independent voters. While, Democrats have a modest lead, yielding 35 percent of Independent support to 27 percent for the Republican Party, 38 percent of support will go to a third party candidate.

Polling was conducted October 24-28. Of the 169 students polled, there were 51 freshman, 53 sophomores, 37 juniors, and 28 seniors. This poll was conducted by WRGW News associates Jeff Jacobson and Michael Fische, with assistance from WRGW News associate Ahna Olson, and GW Mitchell Hall resident Erika Grohoski.

WRGW News Poll: Presidential Race - Lifton Leads

A WRGW News Poll of 369 undergraduate GW students conducted February 21-24, shows that presidential candidate Jason Lifton has a solid lead over his opponent Xochitl Sanchez.

Taking into account only likely voters, Lifton captures 43.5%, while Sanchez has 29.4%, with 27.0% of respondents still undecided.  

There is a stark difference between male and female respondents.

Lifton leads Sanchez among men, 44% to 24%, while his lead among women shrinks to 41% to 33%.  

As previously mentioned in the EVP post, it's important to note this poll isn't scientific; it's just a general survey of GW undergraduate students and their potential SA candidate preferences.  Grad students are not included in the survey.

Here are the complete results of the WRGW News President/EVP poll:

President

Jason Lifton  43.5%

Xochitl Sanchez  29.4%

Undecided  27.0%

EVP

Logan Dobson  21.9%

Rob Maxim  20.6%

Jon Binetti  11.7%

Josh Goldstein  10.7%

Undecided  35.1%

Voter Likelihood 

Very Likely  26%

Likely  32%

Unlikely  29%

Will Not Vote  13%

Male  46.6%

Female  53.4% 

Non-Greek  71.8%

Greek  28.2%

Based on 369 Respondents.  For candidate preferences, only likely and very likely voters were used in the calculations.    

Special thanks to: Alex Laska, Alexa Vogel, Roxanne Martin, Jenn Neuner, Clara Pak, Jared Pliner, Ryan Waye, and Joey Rabinowitz.   

WRGW News Poll: EVP Race - Dobson, Maxim the Frontrunners

A WRGW News Poll of 369 undergraduate GW students conducted February 21-24, shows that EVP candidates Logan Dobson and Rob Maxim are neck and neck.

Taking into account only likely voters, Dobson leads the field with 21.9%, followed by Maxim with 20.6%.  John Binetti comes in third place with 11.7%, and Josh Goldstein gets 10.7% of the survey respondents.  35.1% of the likely voters were still undecided.  

Maxim leads among female students, while Dobson leads among male students. Binetti does better among females, while Goldstein does better among males.  

It's important to note this poll isn't scientific; it's just a general survey of GW undergraduate students and their potential SA candidate preferences.  An important bloc of voters, graduate students, are not included in the poll.  Graduate students tend to vote based on the endorsements that their relevant organizations make (like the Student Bar Association or the Graduate School for Political Management Student Association), so the candidates with those endorsements could expect a bump.  

Results for the SA presidential news poll will be released tomorrow.

Here are the results of the EVP poll:

Logan Dobson  21.9%

Rob Maxim  20.6%

Jon Binetti  11.7%

Josh Goldstein  10.7%

Undecided  35.1%

Voter Likelihood 

Very Likely  26%

Likely  32%

Unlikely  29%

Will Not Vote  13%

Male  46.6%

Female  53.4% 

Non-Greek  71.8%

Greek  28.2%

Based on 369 Respondents.  For candidate preferences, only likely and very likely voters were used in the calculations.    

Thanks to: Alex Laska, Alexa Vogel, Roxanne Martin, Jenn Neuner, Clara Pak, Jared Pliner, Ryan Waye, and Joey Rabinowitz.   

WRGW News Poll Released - January 25, 2010

The latest WRGW News poll shows that SA Executive Vice-President Jason Lifton is the favorite in the upcoming SA Presidential election - only if Senator Logan Dobson stays out of the race.  Lifton only leads Dobson 19.5% to 17%, with Senator Michael Komo pulling in 12% of the vote.

However, if Dobson chooses not to run, Lifton beats Komo 27% to 16%.

There is a wide disparity in terms of who males and females support.  With Dobson in the race,  he leads among males while Lifton leads among females.  With Dobson out of the race,  Lifton has a large lead among males, however he has a slimmer lead over Komo among females.

It is important to note that a majority of the 231 undergraduate students who completed the survey either did not recognize the potential candidates or (even more likely) do not intend to vote in the election, helping to explaining the low numbers of support in the horserace matchups, and indicates name recognition is a considerable factor in the results.   Also, all the candidates on the survey - Jason Lifton, Michael Komo, Logan Dobson, and Dylan F. Pyne have not announced any intention of running for SA President as of January 25, 2010.  The horserace matchups were purely speculative.

In terms of the current standing of the SA, President Julie Bindelglass recieved favorable marks from 21% of those surveyed, while 22% gave her negative marks, and the rest were undecided.

When asked "Do you think the Student Association effectively represents the interests of the student body?" only 22% of those surveyed agreed, while 43% responded that the SA did not represent their interests.

Here are the results of the poll:

231 Respondents 
Margin of Error = +/- 5.4%


SA President (with Dobson)
Jason Lifton  19.5%
Logan Dobson  17%
Michael Komo  12%
Dylan F. Pyne  3%

SA President (without Dobson)
Jason Lifton  27%
Michael Komo  16%
Dylan Pyne  4.5%

Bindelglass Job Approval
Disapprove  22%
Approve  21%

Does SA represent the interests of students?
No  43%
Yes  22%

First WRGW News Poll Released

Over the course of the year, WRGW News will be conducting opinion polling to gauge the general opinions and sentiments of the student body. The polls will focus on what GW students think about national issues, campus issues, and will also survey students on their views on the Student Association, including its leaders and potential SA presidential election match ups later in the school year.

View the results of the WRGW News Poll here.

The first WRGW News Poll shows that students overwhelming reject YAF's (Young Americans Foundation) charge that Michelle Obama and the University are politicizing community service stemming from Obama's community service challenge.

The WRGW News Poll also finds that a plurality of non-freshmen feel that Kyle Boyer was unfairly kicked off the ballot by the JEC last year, and an overwhelming majority of students have a very poor opinion of the job performance of former SA president Vishal Aswani from last year.

There are many other questions in the poll, including questions on the swine flu, health care reform, and President Obama's approval rating, so check them out.

WRGW News Poll Released - September 29, 2009

WRGW News Poll

Release: September 29^th, 2009

National Issues, Campus Issues, Student Association Approval

September 25-28, 2009

136 Respondents

1. Survey Demographics

Gender
Male	44.9%
Female	55.1%

Class
Freshmen	27.2%
Sophomore	27.9%
Junior	25.0%
Senior	15.4%
Graduate	4.4%

School
Columbian	58.1%
Elliot	20.6%
Business	14.0%
Medical	2.9%
Law	0.7%
Other	3.7%

Note: School of Media and Public Affairs counted as Columbian College.

Greek Status
Non-Greek	75.7%
Greek	24.2%

Political Affiliation
Democrat	52.2%
Republican	14.0%
Independent	27.9%
Other	5.2%

2. National Issues

Obama Approval
Excellent	13.4%
Good	62.7%
Fair	18.7%
Poor	5.2%

Original Question: How would you rate the way President Barack Obama is handling his job as President?

Obama Approval
Favorable	76.1%
Unfavorable	23.9%

Favorable Numbers were attained by adding the “excellent” and “good” responses into a “favorable” category and adding the “fair” and “poor” responses into an “unfavorable” category.

Health Care Reform
Favor	42.2%
Oppose	20.0%
Undecided/Don’t Know	37.8%

Original Question: As of right now, do you favor or oppose the healthcare reforms proposed by President Obama and the congressional Democrats?

3. Campus Issues

Michelle Obama Community Service Challenge
Good For Community	83.0%
Politicizing	8.2%
Don’t Know/No Opinion	8.9%

Original Question: As you may have heard, on September 11, 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama challenged GW students to complete 100,000 hours of community service and in return Obama promised to be GW’s commencement speaker this year.  Do you think Michelle Obama’s challenge is good for the community and University, or is she politicizing community service, as suggested by Young Americans Foundation (YAF)?

Getting H1N1 at GW
Very Concerned	8.9%
Moderately Concerned	30.4%
Not Too Concerned	36.3%
Not At All Concerned	24.4%

Original Question: As a GW student, how concerned are you of contracting the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu?

4. Student Association Approval

Votes in SA Election (first round)
Kyle Boyer	22.2%
Julie Bindelglass	15.2%
Nick Polk	12.1%
Someone Else	3.0%
Did Not Vote	47.5%

Note: Non-Freshmen Only

Original Question: To Non-Freshman Students: Who did you vote for in last February’s Student Association presidential election (first round)?

Votes in SA Election (first round, voters only)
Kyle Boyer	42.3%
Julie Bindelglass	28.8%
Nick Polk	23.1%
Someone Else	5.8%

Note: Non-Freshmen Only

Boyer Kicked Off Ballot by JEC
Fairly	17.4%
Unfairly	42.9%
Don’t Know/No Opinion	39.8%

Note: Non-Freshmen Only

Original Question: To Non-Freshman Students: Do you think Kyle Boyer was fairly or unfairly removed from the runoff ballot in last February’s Student Association presidential election for exceeding campaign spending limits?

Vishal Aswani- Retrospective Job Approval Rating
Excellent	2.0%
Good	9.2%
Fair	22.4%
Poor	34.7%
Don’t Know/No Opinion	31.6%

Note: Non-Freshmen Only

Original Question: To Non-Freshman Students: How would you rate the overall job performance of former Student Association President Vishal Aswani during the last academic year?

Vishal Aswani – Retrospective Job Approval Rating
Favorable	16.4%
Unfavorable	83.6%

Favorable Numbers were attained by adding the “excellent” and “good” responses into a “favorable” category and adding the “fair” and “poor” responses into an “unfavorable” category.  “Don’t Know/No Opinion” answers were removed, and the percentages were recalculated.

Student Association Approval (Non-Freshmen Only)
Excellent	2.0%
Good	22.4%
Fair	19.4%
Poor	35.7%
No Opinion	20.4%

Original Question: To Non-Freshman Students: How would you rate the overall job performance of former Student Association President Vishal Aswani during the last academic year?

Student Association Approval (Freshmen Only)
Favorable	78.4%
Unfavorable	8.1%
No Opinion	16.2%

Favorable Numbers were attained by adding the “excellent” and “good” responses into a “favorable” category and adding the “fair” and “poor” responses into an “unfavorable” category.

Student Association Approval (Non-Freshmen)
Favorable	24.5%
Unfavorable	55.1%
No Opinion	20.4%

Favorable Numbers were attained by adding the “excellent” and “good” responses into a “favorable” category and adding the “fair” and “poor” responses into an “unfavorable” category.