'Sizable proportion' of Dems might vote for McCain if their candidate isn't the nomin

"A sizable proportion of Democrats would vote for John McCain next November if he is matched against the candidate they do not support for the Democratic nomination," the pollsters at Gallup report this morning. "This is particularly true for Hillary Clinton supporters," they add, "more than a quarter of whom currently say they would vote for McCain if Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee."

Gallup surveyed "6,657 national Democratic voters, aged 18 and older," from March 7-22. Of that group:

â?¢ 28% of those who support Sen. Clinton said they would vote for Republican Sen. McCain in the general election if Sen. Obama ends up being the Democratic presidential nominee.

â?¢ 19% of those who support Obama said they would vote for McCain in the general election if Clinton ends up being the Democratic nominee.

Gallup says the results each have a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.

Gallup's analysis:

The data suggest that the continuing and sometimes fractious Democratic nomination fight could have a negative impact for the Democratic Party in next November's election. A not insignificant percentage of both Obama and Clinton supporters currently say they would vote for McCain if he ends up running against the candidate they do not support. ...

It is unknown how many Democrats would actually carry through and vote for a Republican next fall if their preferred candidate does not become the Democratic nominee. The Democratic campaign is in the heat of battle at the moment, but by November, there will have been several months of attempts to build party unity around the eventual nominee -- and a focus on reasons why the Republican nominee needs to be defeated. ...

Still, when almost 3 out of 10 Clinton supporters say they would vote for McCain over Obama, it suggests that divisions are running deep within the Democratic Party. If the fight for the party's nomination were to continue until the Denver convention in late August, the Democratic Party could suffer some damage as it tries to regroup for the November general election.
'Sizable proportion' of Dems might vote for McCain if their candidate isn't the nominee - On Politics - USATODAY.com

LMAO! JUST as I predicted!:thumbsup:

Have a good one!:s4:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- New polls show many Democratic voters could swing their support to Sen. John McCain in the general election if their candidate isn't nominated.

The most recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, taken March 14-16, shows the percentage of Sen. Barack Obama supporters who said they'd be dissatisfied or upset if Sen. Hillary Clinton wins the nomination has gone up -- from 26 percent in January, just after Clinton won the New Hampshire primary, to 41 percent now.

The poll suggests if Obama wins, a majority of Clinton supporters -- 51 percent -- would be dissatisfied or upset. The number was 35 percent in January.

The poll had a sampling error of plus or minus 7.5 percentage points.

"That's the only thing that could make John McCain president ... if the Democrats get divided," Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Wednesday.

According to a Gallup Poll taken March 7-22, about one in five Obama supporters -- or 19 percent -- said they will vote for McCain if Clinton is the Democratic nominee.

If Obama's the nominee, more than one in four Clinton supporters -- or 28 percent -- said they'd vote for McCain.

The poll had a sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The last time many Democrats were willing to vote for a Republican was during the Reagan years: 26 percent in 1980, and 25 percent in 1984.

The bitterness of the Democratic division is not the only reason so many Democrats are considering voting for McCain. Watch more on the Democrats' dilemma »

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Poll taken February 1-3 suggests many Democrats like McCain.

The poll showed Democrats were split over McCain: 44 percent said they like him, 42 percent disliked him.

On the flip side, 19 percent of Republicans said they like Clinton. That means nearly 80 percent of Republicans dislike her.

Obama has said he can appeal to Republicans more than Clinton. In the poll, 35 percent of Republicans said they like Obama, while 53 percent said they dislike him.

The poll had a sampling error of plus or minus 5.5 percentage points.
Poll: McCain may peel off Obama, Clinton supporters - CNN.com

Just a bit more info in this article. LOL....looks even worse for the DNC. :D

Have a good one!:s4:

If Clinton wins, a sizable number of voters - say, 95% of the youth vote - simply won't turn out. That's something Gallup hasn't thought to measure yet.