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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A new national survey suggests that race won't be a major factor in the outcome of the presidential election.
Race has played a large role in the election campaign narrative for Sen. Barack Obama.
Seven out of 10 -- or 70 percent -- of Americans questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Survey released Friday said the race of the candidates will not be a factor in their vote for president this year.
That 70 percent figure is up 9 points from July, when the same question was asked. Only 5 percent of those polled said race will be the single most important factor in their choice for president, with 11 percent saying it's one of several important factors, and 13 percent indicating race will be a minor factor in their vote.
Sen. Barack Obama, if elected, would be the first black American to win the White House.  Watch more on the state of the campaign »
"First, don't assume that everyone who says that race is factor in their votes are voting against Obama. Some voters are choosing Obama because of his race. And many of those who say that race will influence their votes are Republicans who were highly unlikely to vote for any Democrat this year," said Keating Holland, CNN polling director.
"By one complicated measure, the number of votes Obama may lose due to his race is roughly equal to the number who will vote for him because he is black. And both those numbers appear to be small, possibly just 1 percentage point in each direction," Holland said. |
