McCain least popular of presidential candidates in Gallup poll Eric Mayes

Published: Thursday April 3, 2008



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Print This Email This McCain has soft support among business donors, too Obama rakes in donations from real estate, financial services industries Afraid that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) too closely resembles President George Bush, voters named him the most unpopular of the three presidential candidates, according to Gallup's latest poll released Thursday. The finding was bolstered by campaign finance reports that showed McCain raking in far less than his Democratic counterparts. Clinton was the runner-up in the Gallup poll -- foes worrying that electing her would just put her husband back in the Oval Office. Obama ended up being the candidate with the fewest critics, perhaps because he's seen less of the political limelight. Those who did pan him cited his lack of experience. Potential voters weren't the only ones turning away from McCain. According to the Wall Street Journal, business donors have ignored him, instead pouring their funds into the coffers of the Democrats. The Republican nominee raised $13.1 million through February, while Clinton raised $27.1 million and Obama collected $22.5 million. "The Republican standard-bearer's attempt to claw back financial support from the GOP's business base could be a pivotal factor in determining the outcome of the presidential race," the Journal's Brody Mullins wrote. Financial-services, insurance and real-estate companies so far have donated to Obama over McCain by almost 2:1 -- and favored Clinton by even more. Health-care and pharmaceutical firms have given three times as much to each of the two Democrats as to McCain. Defense firms put McCain ahead of Obama, but behind Clinton. Energy, construction and agribusiness firms have given more to both Democrats. Only the transportation industry gave more to McCain than the Democrats. Campaign donations were similar to Gallup's findings. Respondents who took part in Gallup's poll choose McCain as the least desirable candidate for three reasons. They listed his associations with the Iraq war, President George W. Bush and the Republican Party. Clinton foes said they found her untrustworthy and Obama critics cited his lack of experience. McCain led in the overall tally with 40 percent of those polled saying he was their least favorable candidate. Clinton garnered a 36 percent unfavorable rating. Obama trailed with just 20 percent of voters saying he was their least favorite candidate. Among Democrats, 76 percent named McCain as their least favorite candidate. Clinton followed with 16 percent and Obama had 9 percent. Republicans divided their answers among the two Democrats but Clinton outstriped Obama by a 60 to 34 percent margin. Only 3 percent of Republicans said they found McCain the least desirable candidate. A look at individual results showed four out of 10 of those polled who disliked Obama said his lack of experience concerned them. Another 8 percent said it they disliked his "religious affiliation." The poll did not clarify whether that meant his long relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. or that fact that he has family members who are Islamic. The majority of Clinton critics said she was untrustworthy. Nearly one quarter of her foes said she could not be trusted. Another 18 percent said they didn't want Bill Clinton back in the White House. McCain came out last because of his connections to the war in Iraq combined with what voters perceive as a similarity to Bush and simply the fact that he is a Republican. Twenty-seven percent named the war, 25 percent his similarities to Bush and 23 percent his party.