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POLITICS

41% Think Primary Process Is Good Way To Choose a Presidential Nominee

Most voters are paying at least some attention to the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but just a plurality (41%) thinks the existing primary process is a good way to select a party’s candidate.

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Likely U.S. Voters believe the current primary process is a bad way to select a presidential nominee, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just as many (30%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

Most Republicans (53%) like the present primary process, a view shared by only 42% of Democrats and 26% of voters not affiliated with either of the major parties.

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Tea Party members think the current process is a good way to select a party presidential candidate. Voters who are not members of the grass roots smaller government movement are narrowly divided on the question.

But then 95% of Tea Party members are following news reports about the race for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012 at least somewhat closely, compared to 66% of non-members. These findings include 66% of Tea Party members who are following the race Very Closely versus just 27% of non-members who are doing the same.

“It’s important to remember that while the Tea Party movement is angry at President Obama, they are also very unhappy with Republicans in Washington,” noted Scott Rasmussen, President of Rasmussen Reports. His book, Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System”  has just come out in paperback.

Voters continue to express a distaste for public financing of elections. Just 17% feel the government should pay for primary elections. Seventy-one percent (71%) say the political parties should bear the cost. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls).  Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on September 4-5, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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