For more detailed data and charts, see here.

Supporting the theory that Barack Obama’s presidential bid is being fueled by the youth demographic, Washington University Democrats and Democratic leaning independents are significantly more likely to support the Illinois senator than Democrats nationwide, according to a recent poll.

Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., is leading among Republicans and Republican leaners, although by a smaller margin than in national polls.

Challenging the traditional assumption that college students are not a powerful electoral demographic, 89 percent of the University student population are registered voters and 67 percent of those eligible voted in 2006.

In a poll of undergraduate and graduate students conducted on January 15 by Student Life, 58 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners, compared to 27 percent nationally in the most recent New York Times/CBS poll, said that if the election were held today they would vote for Senator Obama.

Senator Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., was the nearest Democratic opponent, receiving the support of 21 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents; nationally, she leads with 42 percent. In both polls, former North Carolina Senator John Edwards placed a distant third.

If the election were held today, 27 percent of Washington University Republicans and Republican leaning independents, compared to 33 percent nationally, would vote for Senator McCain. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee placed second in both polls, supported by 17 percent of University students and 18 percent nationally.

Notably, while Mayor Rudolph Giuliani placed third in national polls, within the University he placed behind both Representative Ron Paul, R-TX, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Republicans and Republican leaners who identified as working class broke that trend and supported Governor Huckabee, followed by Ron Paul; other socio-economic identifications did not present significant departures from the general population.

Data was collected through an online survey system over six hours; respondents were contacted by an e-mail sent to all University graduate and undergraduate students. The poll received 2,015 responses and had a theoretical margin of error of two percent.

The poll provided a glance at the political breakdown of the University, supporting the common assumption that the campus political scene is dominated by Democrats; 42 percent of respondents affiliated with the Democratic party, while only 12 percent affiliated with the Republican party. Twenty-nine percent of respondents did not affiliate with a party.

Nearly 80 percent of Democrats at the University believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction, as compared to 30 percent of Republicans.

Highlighting the political divide within the nation, Democrats overwhelmingly expressed disapproval with President Bush. Ninety-seven percent of Democrats disapproved or strongly disapproved of the job President Bush is doing; only 32 percent of Republicans disapproved or strongly disapproved of the president.

Further, of students who had voted for President Bush in 2004, over 40 percent disapproved of the way in which he is addressing the nation’s problems.

When asked to identify the most pressing issue facing the country, 21 percent selected “the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.” That was followed by “the economy and globalization,” which received 16 percent of responses; “global climate change and the environment” placed a close third with 13 percent.

Black students were more likely to identify education as a pressing issue, selecting it as the third most important issue; in the general population, education ranked seventh.

Breaking from the overall trend, Republicans singled out “the war on terrorism and homeland security” as the most pressing issue facing the nation.

Visit blogs.studlife.com for on-going, detailed election coverage from the Student Life political unit.

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