Graduate School of Political Management students, faculty and alumni assess which presidential campaign “wins” the week in new poll.
The selection of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as a running mate helped give Mitt Romney’s campaign the edge over Barack Obama’s last week, according to a new poll of selected GSPM community members.
The GSPM Horse Race poll, which will be conducted every week through the election, asks participants to rate the performance of the presidential candidates and their campaigns and vote for the week’s winner.
“As one of the leading graduate schools of applied politics, we thought it was important to have our students, alumni and faculty weigh in on which campaign leads in this national horse race,” said Mark Kennedy, director of GSPM. “Each week, we will assess the twists and turns of the candidates, their campaigns and the political environment as we reach the finish line on Election Day, Nov. 6.”
Poll participants’ responses have been weighted to ensure that they are balanced politically with equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans.
“Our students, alumni, faculty and adjunct professors live and breathe politics so we believe results of the Horse Race can help the nation better understand where the campaign is headed,” said David Rehr, an adjunct professor of political management.
In the survey’s first installment, which assessed the week ending Aug. 5, President Obama outperformed Romney with the president’s personal performance and campaign performance rated higher than the former governor’s. Poll results are released every Tuesday for the week previous.