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Flemington, NJ, February 8, 2008 – A new national focus group among 400 self-reported Republicans indicated that Senator John McCain’s February 7 Speech at the CPAC Conference in Washington, DC repositioned him as a conservative among Republican voters.
The communications research study was conducted today by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion to obtain Americans’ perceptions of Senator John McCain relative to other candidates after viewing segments from the from the speech yesterday.
While viewing video segments of the speech, participants indicated their levels of agreement by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. Participants were asked pre- and post-viewing questions regarding their opinions of the candidates. To view detailed results and agreement curves, go to: www.mediacurves.com
Among the study findings:
• Before viewing the segments of the speech, one fifth (20%) described the Senator as a conservative. After viewing the excerpts 46% described him as a conservative.
How would you describe John McCain’s political views?
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Prior to viewing excerpts: |
After viewing debate segments: |
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Liberal - 21% |
Liberal - 12% |
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Moderate - 58% |
Moderate - 41% |
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Conservative - 20% |
Conservative - 47% |
• There was a 4% movement toward Senator McCain and away from Governor Huckabee.
Which of the following candidates do you support most for the Republican Presidential Nomination?
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Prior to viewing debate segments: |
After viewing debate segments: |
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John McCain - 48% |
John McCain - 52% |
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Mike Huckabee - 25% |
Mike Huckabee - 21% |
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Ron Paul - 4% |
Ron Paul - 4% |
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Other candidate/undecided - 23% |
Other candidate/undecided - 23% |
Regarding social issues such as abortion rights, same sex marriage and stem cell research, agreement with his perceived stance on these issues among responders increased. Except on the abortion issue (increase in agreement from 41% pre viewing to 63% post viewing), less than half of the responders agreed with the Senator’s positions both before and after viewing the segment.
“The automated response curve suggested consistency among self described conservative and moderate Republicans..” explained Glenn Kessler, President and CEO, HCD Research. “Only 4% of responders described themselves as liberal and their response appeared to separate from the more conservative Republicans regarding comments related to the war in Iraq”.
The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.
Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research; Chris Borick, Ph.D., director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net).
HCD Research is a communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based marketing and communications research. For additional information on HCD Research, access the company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, MCIPO is a respected source of public opinion data on local, state and national issues.
