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America Votes 2002: What's on Voters' Minds?

Aired November 04, 2002 - 06:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: What's on voters' minds as they head to the polls? You may be surprised by the results of a new poll. The Pew Research Center Poll finds concerns over terrorism placing third among the most important issues, domestic concerns and the economy taking precedence. The same poll also finds state and local issues will make the biggest impact on how people cast their votes tomorrow.
Here now with the latest findings from our own polling, senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

Good morning, thanks for getting up early with us. I know you got a couple of busy days here.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Indeed.

CALLAWAY: You know that information I just read reminds us that politics is all local, isn't it?

SCHNEIDER: Politics is usually all local. In this election, it appears to be more local than it's been in previous midterms. Remember in 1994 when Clinton was very unpopular after the health care plan,...

CALLAWAY: Right.

SCHNEIDER: ... all the Democrats were - they made ads about them morphing into Bill Clinton. And in 1998, it was all about impeachment; everything was about that. This year it's much more localized.

CALLAWAY: And you know this is a very important midterm election, probably one of the most important that we've seen in a long time. How enthusiastic are voters about this?

SCHNEIDER: Well a little less than usual, but there's a big difference between Democrats and Republicans...

CALLAWAY: Really?

SCHNEIDER: ... and that can make a difference in the polls. We asked people are you more or less enthusiastic this year about voting then you've been in the past? Well, what we're showing you is that 64 percent of Republicans said they're more enthusiastic, only 51 percent of Democrats. Well that indicates that President Bush is rallying the Republican base. He's been going all over the country, a relentless travel schedule, and it looks like it's working. CALLAWAY: And we've seen former presidents on the campaign trail as well.

SCHNEIDER: Right.

CALLAWAY: All of them getting in...

SCHNEIDER: Former nominees, Gore, former presidents, Bill Clinton, it's all the big guns are out there.

CALLAWAY: You know the balance of power hanging, it's just - it's just hanging in the air now. This is going to be an important election for that. How - what is the vote going to say when people go into that booth and cast their ballot? Are - what are they saying when they vote Democrat and Republican?

SCHNEIDER: Well for a lot of people it's a statement about President Bush. He's the central figure in this election. He has to be, not only because he's president, but he's putting himself on the line. So we asked people this weekend is your vote going to be a statement to support President Bush,...

CALLAWAY: Right.

SCHNEIDER: ... to oppose him or is he irrelevant to your vote? And what we found is that more people say they want to support President Bush, 35 percent, than say they are voting to oppose President Bush, only half that number, 18 percent. The rest say he's not a factor in their vote. What that indicates is that the Republicans have made President Bush the defining character in this election.

CALLAWAY: Right.

SCHNEIDER: It's about him and many more people want to support him than oppose him.

CALLAWAY: That's interesting. And he's really put himself out there for this campaign, too. He's really been to - all over the place the last few days, all over the U.S.

SCHNEIDER: He has, and the danger was that the economy would define this election. Americans are very nervous, they're very anxious about the economy. And if President Bush were not out there and this were a referendum on the economy, which is what the Democrats wanted,...

CALLAWAY: Right.

SCHNEIDER: ... it could have been very bad for the Republicans. But right now, it's not looking too bad.

CALLAWAY: All right, Bill, I know it's going to be a long day for you tomorrow. Going to be some close races,...

SCHNEIDER: Oh yes. Absolutely. CALLAWAY: ... late polling, right?

All right, thank you - Bill.

SCHNEIDER: Sure, Catherine.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 4, 2002 - 06:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: What's on voters' minds as they head to the polls? You may be surprised by the results of a new poll. The Pew Research Center Poll finds concerns over terrorism placing third among the most important issues, domestic concerns and the economy taking precedence. The same poll also finds state and local issues will make the biggest impact on how people cast their votes tomorrow.
Here now with the latest findings from our own polling, senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

Good morning, thanks for getting up early with us. I know you got a couple of busy days here.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Indeed.

CALLAWAY: You know that information I just read reminds us that politics is all local, isn't it?

SCHNEIDER: Politics is usually all local. In this election, it appears to be more local than it's been in previous midterms. Remember in 1994 when Clinton was very unpopular after the health care plan,...

CALLAWAY: Right.

SCHNEIDER: ... all the Democrats were - they made ads about them morphing into Bill Clinton. And in 1998, it was all about impeachment; everything was about that. This year it's much more localized.

CALLAWAY: And you know this is a very important midterm election, probably one of the most important that we've seen in a long time. How enthusiastic are voters about this?

SCHNEIDER: Well a little less than usual, but there's a big difference between Democrats and Republicans...

CALLAWAY: Really?

SCHNEIDER: ... and that can make a difference in the polls. We asked people are you more or less enthusiastic this year about voting then you've been in the past? Well, what we're showing you is that 64 percent of Republicans said they're more enthusiastic, only 51 percent of Democrats. Well that indicates that President Bush is rallying the Republican base. He's been going all over the country, a relentless travel schedule, and it looks like it's working. CALLAWAY: And we've seen former presidents on the campaign trail as well.

SCHNEIDER: Right.

CALLAWAY: All of them getting in...

SCHNEIDER: Former nominees, Gore, former presidents, Bill Clinton, it's all the big guns are out there.

CALLAWAY: You know the balance of power hanging, it's just - it's just hanging in the air now. This is going to be an important election for that. How - what is the vote going to say when people go into that booth and cast their ballot? Are - what are they saying when they vote Democrat and Republican?

SCHNEIDER: Well for a lot of people it's a statement about President Bush. He's the central figure in this election. He has to be, not only because he's president, but he's putting himself on the line. So we asked people this weekend is your vote going to be a statement to support President Bush,...

CALLAWAY: Right.

SCHNEIDER: ... to oppose him or is he irrelevant to your vote? And what we found is that more people say they want to support President Bush, 35 percent, than say they are voting to oppose President Bush, only half that number, 18 percent. The rest say he's not a factor in their vote. What that indicates is that the Republicans have made President Bush the defining character in this election.

CALLAWAY: Right.

SCHNEIDER: It's about him and many more people want to support him than oppose him.

CALLAWAY: That's interesting. And he's really put himself out there for this campaign, too. He's really been to - all over the place the last few days, all over the U.S.

SCHNEIDER: He has, and the danger was that the economy would define this election. Americans are very nervous, they're very anxious about the economy. And if President Bush were not out there and this were a referendum on the economy, which is what the Democrats wanted,...

CALLAWAY: Right.

SCHNEIDER: ... it could have been very bad for the Republicans. But right now, it's not looking too bad.

CALLAWAY: All right, Bill, I know it's going to be a long day for you tomorrow. Going to be some close races,...

SCHNEIDER: Oh yes. Absolutely. CALLAWAY: ... late polling, right?

All right, thank you - Bill.

SCHNEIDER: Sure, Catherine.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com