Voter News Service Presidential Primary Exit Polls, 2000

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The data were collected through interviews conducted with voters exiting polling places in 25 states and with voters entering the polls in one state, Iowa, on the day of their respective primaries and caucuses to choose the Democratic and Republican parties' candidates for President of the United States. Early and absentee voters in two states, Arizona and California, were polled via the telephone prior to their state's primary days. Respondents were asked for which candidate they voted in the primaries, when and why they decided on that candidate, and what one quality and one issue mattered most in choosing that candidate. They were asked to give their opinions of the primary candidates and each candidate's likelihood of gaining his or her party's nomination and defeating the opposition party's candidate to win the presidency. Respondents were questioned on whether they considered voting in the other political party's primary. Additional questions addressed the candidates' proposed health care plans, the strength of Democratic candidates' ties to President Bill Clinton, the effectiveness of their campaign ads, and which candidates were more likely to say what they believed as opposed to what they thought the public wanted to hear. All respondents were further queried on the source of their news, their financial situation compared to four years ago, their opinions of President Clinton, and their position on abortion. Some questions were specific to a certain state, for example, in South Carolina respondents were asked to give their opinion of flying the Confederate flag over the state capitol building. Background information includes age, education, frequency of religious participation, frequency of the use of the Internet, household income in 1999, marital status, military service, number of children living in the household, political ideology, political party affiliation, race, religious affiliation, and sex.