Obama and McCain Tied Among Wealthy in New Survey
October 2nd, 2008 
admin Obama’s Support Among Women and Independents Offsets McCain’s Strength with Men
Contrary to conventional wisdom that the wealthy are staunch Republican voters, Obama and McCain each received 48% of the votes among likely voters in a new survey of the wealthiest 10% of US households. About 4% of the likely voters indicated they had not made a decision or were supporting another candidate.
With 552 respondents, the national survey is representative of the wealthiest 11.4 million households (as defined by net worth in the most recent Federal Reserve Board research) that will account for almost 25% of all votes to be cast in the presidential election. The survey was completed September 25 by the American Affluence Research Center in Atlanta.
The survey participants have an average income of $304,000 and an average net worth of $3.1 million. The respondents reported party affiliations of 42% as Republicans, 30% as Democrats (due to 39% share among women), and 27% as Independents.
Men favored McCain 59% to 36% for Obama, while women favored Obama 61% to 36% for McCain. Independents favored Obama 55% to 34% for McCain.
The source of McCain’s support was 80% from people who considered themselves Republicans, 19% from Independents, and 1% from Democrats. The source of Obama’s support was 63% from Democrats, 31% from Independents, and 6% from Republicans.
Of 18 possible issues that were listed, the five issues most important to McCain’s supporters are state of the economy (48%), war on terrorism (33%), war in Iraq (29%), long term energy program (29%), and 2001 Bush tax cuts (27%).
The issues most important to Obama’s supporters are the economy (59%), war in Iraq (55%), universal health care (28%), foreign policy (28%), and energy program (26%).
Additional data is available in categories defined by gender, age, income, and net worth and will be included in the report for The Affluent Market Tracking Study #14, a unique survey conducted twice a year to identify the outlook of the wealthy for the economy, the stock market, their personal income, and their spending plans for over 20 different products and services.
AARC provides marketing research, mailing lists, and consulting services to businesses that focus on the affluent. For more information: Ron Kurtz at KurtzGroup@comcast.net or 770-740-2200 .
Tags: Affluence Research, survey of the affluent, survey of the wealthy