Latest Polls Indicate Ralph Nader Candidacy Is Helping Obama

[Better Believe It]

Nader says polls indicate he’s helping Obama
Is Nader a Republican ‘spoiler’ this year?
ThirdPartyWatch.com
September 23, 2008

Contrary to conventional wisdom, Ralph Nader’s presence on the ballot in 2008 actually helps Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, according to at least five national polls conducted over the past three months, as well as a Florida poll conducted last week and a Virginia poll this week.

In each of the national polls, Obama’s spread over Republican candidate John McCain widened by an average of more than 3 percent when Nader and Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr were included on the menu of choices.

The CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corp. for Florida that came out this past Wednesday showed Obama and McCain tied at 48 percent. But when third-party candidates were added to the mix, Obama retained his ground, and McCain dropped back 4 percent.

CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corp
Date: 9/14-16
Florida
Added: 9/18/08

Barack Obama 48%
John McCain 44%
Ralph Nader 4%
Bob Barr 1%
Cynthia McKinney 1%

In a Sept 21, Washington Post-ABC News Poll of registered voters in Virginia, Obama has a 6-point margin over McCain, besting the Arizona Senator 50 percent to 44 percent. When third-party candidates Ralph Nader and Bob Barr are added to the mix, Obama’s spread over McCain grows to an 8-point margin (Obama = 51 percent, McCain = 43 percent), with Barr and Nader both chalking up 2 percent each.

You can read the complete article at:

http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/09/24/nader-says-polls-indicate-hes-helping-obama/

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Here's some newspaper articles you may not have seen regarding earlier polls that also indicate Obama is does better when Nader and other candidates are included in the polling:

The Nader effect: Bad for Republicans?
August 27, 2008
Themorningcall.com

Ralph Nader, pursuing yet another run for president, isn't exactly a blip on the radar in battleground states. On the contrary, Nader is polling between 6 and 8 percent in Pennsylvania, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, a new Time/CNN poll shows.

A depressing sign for Democrats? Not exactly. Nader appears to be pulling almost all of his support from potential John McCain voters.

In Pennsylvania, for example, Barack Obama leads McCain by just 5 points (48 percent to 43 percent) when voters are asked to choose between the two, but 9 points (47 percent to 38 percent) when Nader is thrown into the mix. Nader gets 7 percent.

Maybe the Obama campaign should be helping to keep Nader on the ballot.

http://blogs.mcall.com/penn_ave/2008/08/the-nader-effec ...

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Does Nader hurt McCain in PA?
By Wally Edge
August 27, 2008
Politickerpa.com
In addition to showing U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) with a 5 point advantage (48 percent to 43 percent) over U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), today's TIME/CNN poll also suggests that Obama's chances in the Keystone State may be boosted by the presence of third-party candidates on the ballot.

When voters were asked to choose among Obama, McCain and three third-party candidates, the Democrat's 5 point lead grew to 9 percentage points.

Obama leads McCain 47 percent to 38 percent, while independent candidate Ralph Nader attracts 7 percent of the vote and Libertarian candidate Bob Barr drew an additional 1 percent.

http://www.politickerpa.com/wallyedgepa/1513/does-nader ...




NBC/WSJ Poll: Obama keeps lead over McCain
Voters see Democrat as riskier pick, but rival has negatives of his own
By Mark Murray
Deputy political director
NBC News

After embarking on his highly publicized trip overseas, Obama enjoys a 47-41 percent advantage over McCain, which is unchanged from last month. The survey was conducted of 1,003 registered voters from Friday to Monday, July 18-21, during Obama's overseas trip. It has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.

But Obama’s lead over McCain expands to 13 points when third-party candidates Ralph Nader and Bob Barr are added into the mix — with Obama at 48 percent, McCain at 35 percent, Nader at 5 percent and Barr at 2 percent.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25816799 /

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Could Third-Party Hopefuls Foil McCain?
AOL News

Polls show Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama running close in the presidential election. But could third-party candidates siphon votes away from McCain, much as Ralph Nader was blamed for doing to Al Gore in 2000? The idea has been floating around for awhile, and this week's NBC News / Wall Street Journal poll underscores the possibility that such candidates could hurt McCain.

According to the poll results, Obama had a 6-point lead over McCain, even though most respondents thought he was a riskier pick for president. But when voters were asked to factor in two other candidates -- former GOP congressman Bob Barr, who's running for president as a Libertarian, and Nader, who's running as an independent -- Obama's lead opened up.

Here's how MSNBC summarized it: "... Obama’s lead over McCain expands to 13 points when third-party candidates Ralph Nader and Bob Barr are added into the mix — with Obama at 48 percent, McCain at 35 percent, Nader at 5 percent and Barr at 2 percent. However, it’s important to note that the pro-Obama (48 percent) and anti-Obama vote (adding up to 42 percent) is consistent with the result from the two-way match up."

http://news.aol.com/elections/article/could-third-party ...