State and federal officeholders in 2005
(Click on a presidential contender above, or click below on a state for a
list of Governors, Senators, House of Representative members, and their
challengers).
Click for excerpts from rulings by Sandra Day O'Connor
or for other Supreme Court justices.
Below are the summary results of our VoteMatch 20-question
political quiz, with analysis of the responses in terms of Bush's & Gore's
stances from the 200 elections (when this data began being collected). Click on
the links below for excerpts on each topic, or click for a summary of
Gore's VoteMatch answers and
Bush's VoteMatch answers, with headlines evidencing how we concluded
their answer to each question. Click on the "analysis" link to see background
and details about the question.
Abortion is a Woman's Right
Strongly Support
Support
No Opinion
Oppose
Strongly Oppose
Analysis: 61%
agree with Gore's pro-choice
stance, and only 35% with
Bush's pro-life stance. This issue has the fewest people answering "no
opinion" of any VoteMatch issue (only 4%), which reflects the fact that it is
overwhelmingly the issue with the most voter interest (as indicated by our
viewership statistics). Click for all candidates' headlines on
abortion or for background
information.
Analysis: It's
difficult to decode the candidates's stances on religious issues, since both
are wary of issues of separation of church and state, and neither wants to be
seen as anti-religion. But Bush is considerably more willing to federally fund
values education, which the results above would imply are supported by
38% of voters. 50% oppose school prayer, which implies a closer match to
Gore's voluntary-only prayer. and 35% with Bush's stance. Click for all
candidates' headlines on Education or for headlines
on Values.
Death Penalty
Strongly Support
Support
No Opinion
Oppose
Strongly Oppose
Analysis: Both
Gore and Bush support the death penalty, but Bush is
more fervent about it; such strong support is backed up by 31% of
voters. Gore's more
cautious support is backed by 17% of voters, for an overall split of
47% support to 43% opposition. Click for all candidates' headlines on
Crime or for background
information.
Mandatory "Three Strikes" Sentencing Laws
Strongly Support
Support
No Opinion
Oppose
Strongly Oppose
Analysis: Both
Bush & Gore support mandatory sentencing, which is unsurprising given the
lopsided voter preference: 66% to 25% in support. Gore agrees with tougher
penalties, but prefers
more police. Bush is again more fervent, in favor of
"Two Strikes" and limited parole, including minors. Click for all
candidates' headlines on Juvenile Crime or for
background information.
Analysis: Only
29% agree with Gore's stance to keep Social Security
within the federal government, while 56% agree with Bush's stance of
privatization. Social Security until recently was called the "Third
Rail" of politics -- touch it and you die -- but clearly the voters are ready
for a change. This question is perhaps the most skewed by demographics -- our
viewers are all Internet users, and hence are younger and more affluent than
the general population. Click for all candidates' headlines on
Social Security or for
background information.
Parents Choose Schools Via Vouchers
Strongly Support
Support
No Opinion
Oppose
Strongly Oppose
Analysis: 42%
agree with Gore's stance to fund
public schools only, and 47% agree with Bush's stance to
fund vouchers for private schools. Education is primarily a non-federal
issue, with 93% of funding and most decisions occuring at the state and local
levels. But education is solidly second in voter interest (behind abortion, as
measured by our viewership statistics), so the candidates are obligated to make
their views known despite the limited power of the presidency on this issue.
Click for all candidates' headlines on School Choice
or for background
information.
