Does Poverty influence your vote?

Zogby Poll: Majority Call Fighting Poverty a "Top Priority"

58% of voters more likely to vote for '08 candidate who sets goal of halving poverty within a decade

Poverty is on the minds of a majority of Americans as the 2008 presidential contest moves headlong toward a compressed primary calendar, new polling conducted by Zogby International ahead of a Democratic candidate forum shows.

The poll of 933 likely voters nationwide is being released in conjunction with a Monday forum on poverty at George Washington University, featuring expected appearances by top-tier Democratic candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards.

The poll, conducted in conjunction with the Life Cycle Institute at the Catholic University of America and the Center for American Progress, found half of likely voters (58%) calling poverty either the single most important priority facing the nation’s leaders or a top priority for Congress and the President.

Poverty appears poised to be a major issue heading into the 2008 elections, with 55% saying they are very concerned about it, and 58% of likely voters saying they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who set a national goal of cutting poverty in half within a decade. Just 8% said they would be less likely to vote for such a candidate. This issue had particular resonance with Democratic Party voters, where 40% of likely voters said they would be “much more likely” to vote for such a candidate.

Continue reading the survey here