Monday, June 16, 2008

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The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Kansas shows John McCain leading Barack Obama by ten percentage points, 47% to 37%. Six percent (6%) say they’d vote for a third-party candidate while 10% remain undecided.

That ten-point advantage is half the lead the Republican enjoyed a month ago, before Obama clinched the Democratic nomination. Nationally, since clinching the nomination, Obama has enjoyed a modest bounce in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

McCain is viewed favorably by 62% of Kansas voters while Obama earns positive reviews from 49%. McCain’s rating is up a point over the past month while Obama has gained four points. The presumptive Democratic nominee traces his family roots to Kansas where his mother was born and his maternal grandmother still lives.

The candidates are essentially even among women, but McCain leads by more than twenty points among men. McCain wins 76% of the Republican vote, Obama is supported by 70% of Democrats, and the candidates are even among unaffiliated voters. Thirty-two percent (32%) of unaffiliated voters are not committed to either candidate.

Rasmussen Markets shows that Republicans are currently given a % chance of winning the Six Electoral College Votes from Kansas this fall. Four years ago, George W. Bush won the state by twenty-five percentage points. With release of this poll, Kansas shifts from “Safely Republican” to “Likely Republican” in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator.

The U.S. Senate race in Kansas is showing signs that it might be a bit more competitive than expected this year.

Fifty-two percent (52%) of Kansas voters say that Obama is too inexperienced to be President. That’s well above the national average. Just 23% say McCain is too old for the job.

On Iraq, Kansas voters are evenly divided—46% say it’s more important to get the troops home than to win the War. Another 46% hold the opposite view and say victory is more important. Nationally, most voters say it’s more important to get the troops home.

Sixty-five percent (65%) of Kansas voters say that the federal government has become a special interest group that looks out primarily for its own interests. Just 13% disagree. Only 15% say that the government today represents the will of the people. These figures suggest that Kansas voters share a healthy skepticism of government with voters across the country.

George W. Bush won 62% of the Kansas vote four years ago but just 36% of the state’s voters now say he is doing a good or an excellent job. Forty-three percent (43%) say the President is doing a poor job.

This survey was conducted in partnership with Fox Television Stations Inc.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs available for Premium Members only.