Poll at Stewart rally finds overwhelming Dem majority, but not 2008 enthusiasm

A straw poll conducted on attendees at the rally hosted by comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on the National Mall Saturday found an overwhelming majority of Democratic voters, but sapped enthusiasm as compared to 2008.

According to the poll conducted by Lake Research Partners & Revolution Messaging at the “Rally to Restore Sanity,” 86 percent of participants surveyed said they planned to vote Democratic this week, with eight percent undecided and just one percent voting Republican.

Only one in four surveyed said they more excited about this election than 2008. Thirty-nine percent said their enthusiasm had diminished.

A full 90 percent of rally attendees approved of President Obama, with 56 percent approving of him strongly. Only 10 percent disapproved of the president, just 2 percent strongly.

The USAction Straw Poll was conducted by text message on cell phones. Participants Texted SANITY or FEAR to 228466 (ACTION) and received a short survey about their views on President Obama, Tuesday’s election, and which issues they think are most important for the country.

Forty-one percent said the most important issue is jobs, while healthcare came in with just 11 percent. Eighty-seven percent said Obama should prioritize “investing in programs that put people back to work” as opposed to “focusing on cutting spending instead.”