No Issue Advantage
by Scott Rasmussen

While America’s voters are not particularly happy with the current Republican President, the leading Democratic Presidential Candidates have no advantage over the top GOP Hopefuls when it comes to Iraq, the Economy, or Restoring the Nation’s Optimism. Democratic candidates do have an edge when it comes to the environment while the GOP candidates hold the lead on immigration.

Among the nation’s pool of unaffiliated voters, the GOP candidates also have the edge when it comes to the economy.

These surprising results come from a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey that asked voters to name which individual candidate they trust most on particular issues. On an individual basis, New York Senator Hillary Clinton was the top choice on four of five issues among all voters. Another Democrat, Illinois Senator Barack Obama did especially well among unaffiliated voters.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was the top choice among Republicans on four of the five issues, but his lead was typically modest over former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson.

Among Democrats Clinton was the top choice on all five issues and enjoyed a double digit lead on four of the five. Forty-nine percent (49%) of Democrats named Clinton their top pick when it comes to managing the economy. Only 15% of Democrats said the same about Obama.

See a summary of the results for each question, including partisan breakdowns.

The parity between the two party Presidential candidates is also reflected in data showing a virtual tie between the frontrunners—both Giuliani and Thompson hold a statistically meaningless one-point advantage over Clinton in the latest general election match-ups.

When it comes to resolving the situation in Iraq, 42% of the nation’s voters say they are most likely to trust one of the leading Democratic Presidential candidates while 41% name a Republican candidate. As for the economy, 44% say they’re most likely to trust one of the Democratic candidates while 43% opt for a Republican. On this issue, the GOP enjoys a 12-point advantage among unaffiliated voters.

The Democrats enjoy a very modest three-point advantage on the question of restoring the nation’s optimism. A recent survey found that just 26% believe the United States is better off than it was four years ago. Another survey found that just 36% believe the nation’s best days are still ahead of us.

Republican candidates enjoy a collective six-point advantage when it comes to handling the immigration issue. Democrats have an eleven point edge on the environment.

While the Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates are fairly evenly matched on these issues, Democrats overall are trusted more than Republicans on ten key issues tracked by Rasmussen Reports. Democrats also have enjoyed a consistent lead on the Generic Congressional Ballot.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade. Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. The Rasmussen Reports ElectionEdge™ Premium Service for Election 2008 offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a Presidential election. During both Election 2004 and Election 2006, RasmussenReports.com was the top-ranked public opinion research site on the web.