WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 A new USA Today/Gallup poll said 62 percent of likely voters are enthusiastic about the 2007 U.S. presidential campaign, up 17 points from 2000.
The new poll showed 90 percent of those surveyed said their vote makes a difference and the bipartisan level of enthusiasm is 6 percentage points higher than in the 2004 election that boasted the highest voter turnout in a generation, USA Today said Thursday.
Observers said the overall pessimistic perception of U.S. policy concerning foreign affairs, the economy and other issues is a driving factor behind the poll numbers.
The poll also said voters under the age of 30 made up nearly 20 percent in the early presidential contests from both political parties.
Another key motivation is the message of hope. More than 80 percent of those surveyed said there is a strong candidate running in their political party and 70 percent said the candidates are running on important platforms.
The characteristics of the presidential candidates -- the first viable female, African-American and Mormon -- also energized many of the voters, the poll said.
The Jan. 10-13 telephone survey of 2,010 adults had a maximum sampling error of 3 percentage points.
Copyright 2008 by UPI
