Obama Up 30 Points Among Low-Wage Voters

[jefferson_dem]

Obama Up 30 Points Among Low-Wage Voters

by Jonathan Singer, Mon Aug 04, 2008 at 07:57:36 AM EST

Remember how Barack Obama was supposed to be uniquely weak among "hardworking Americans"? Well apparently that's just not the case.

According to a new poll from The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University, Obama leads by a whopping 58 percent to 28 percent margin (.pdf) among voters under the age of 65 working at least 30 hours a week for $27,000 or less per year. Obama's performance within this demographic is almost exactly the same as Kerry's in 2004; although the breakdown of subgroups in exit polling from that fall doesn't exactly line up with this survey, Kerry appears to have brought in about 59 percent of the vote of those earning $30,000 or less per year that November -- not tremendously far off from Obama's showing.

How about John McCain's numbers? How do they stack up? McCain's 28 percent showing among this demographic is significantly less than the roughly 40 percent of the vote George W. Bush received from those earning less than $30,000 per year back in 2004. Unless Bush carried the votes of those earning $27,001 to $30,000 per year by an overwhelming margin, or unless those in this income demographic over the age of 65 were tremendously Bush-leaning (and Bush only carried the overall over-65 vote with 52 percent of the vote), it would certainly appear that McCain is seriously underperforming among the lowest wage workers in the country. McCain's showing is even poorer than that of the House Republicans in 2006, when GOP candidates pulled in about 34 percent of the vote of those earning less than $30,000 per year.

This graf from the write up of the poll would garner some attention as well:

Obama's advantage is attributable largely to overwhelming support from two traditional Democratic constituencies: African Americans and Hispanics. But even among white workers -- a group of voters that has been targeted by both parties as a key to victory in November -- Obama leads McCain by 10 percentage points, 47 percent to 37 percent, and has the advantage as the more empathetic candidate.

These numbers sure seem to knock down the idea that Obama can't win the vote of hardworking Americans, or White low-income workers, in particular -- and in fact begin to raise questions as to whether it is McCain who is too weak among this subset of the electorate. It's little wonder, then, that the exceedingly wealthy McCain, whose family owns several homes and who has been seen campaigning in $520 loafers, a wannabe celebrity in his own right who has earned more Hollywood screen time since 2000 than "the rest of Congres combined," is now trying to play class politics and stir up the backlash against Obama in the hopes up narrowing the wide margin by which he trails among this key voting demographic.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/8/4/75736/89122

[panader0]

1. There's a lot of us out here.

[rAVES]

2. Low wage voters going Rethug ought to have their heads checked out...

[FlaDem83]

4. Exactly

My husband's mom - low wage a 19+ year forklift driver at a Goodrich plant in Indiana LOVES Obama, and, after seeing him this last Friday in Fla. is on a mission to get him elected. A lot of her friends at the plant feel exactly the same. We made sure to send her back w/some great talking points too.

[scheming daemons]

3. This depresses me....

A. If we're touting "sub groups" where Obama leads, then that means there are equally large "sub groups" where McCain leads.... or else this race wouldn't be tied.

B. The fact that 37% of low wage voters favor McCain is unbelievable. That's like 37% of the hens in a chicken coop favoring weasels.


Sigh.

[rox63]

5. The key will be getting those voters to the polls

They'll have to find time between working their 2 or more jobs to get to the polls. Then we'll have to hope they don't have to wait in line for hours, risking their jobs for the simple right to vote.

[predfan]

6. Exactly.........think those "low wage earners" will get much opportunity to go tothe polls

on election day, if their employers have anything to do with offering it? Doubt it.

[mtnester]

7. Exactly, and if the polls are short machined, or there are long lines

AND THERE WILL BE, some folks have exactly 30 minutes to get in and get out, if they have two jobs, they may lose one.

I watched in 2004, more than a dozen people crying because:

1. They stood in line, knowing they were going to lose their job by waiting 1 or more hours to vote, because their "bosses" told them if they did not get in on time or back from their lunch on time from voting, they would be fired, and did it anyway and were scared. The utter desolation YET determination on their faces...was enough to break your spirit almost. These folks had courage in a way I do not know I ever would.

2. Came to the polls, and could NOT afford to lose their job by waiting 1 or more hours to vote, because their "bosses" told them if they did not get in on time or back from their lunch on time from voting, they would be fired...so they could not vote...folks had a different kind of courage that broke my heart.

I had one woman who was so devastated she could not vote, it would have broken your spirit to watch her leave...she was utterly devastated. Another, who had voted at the same precinct the entire time she had been allowed by LAW to vote (she was in her mid-late 80's) was told she was not on the "list" of people to vote...she had been purged. She dressed up to vote like it was church and important..hat and ALL...How do you tell her she was purged from the polls probably because of her race and the fact that she was a consitent voter? CAN you look her in the eye and say that without melting into a puddle of rage, tears, despair, empathy...? No. I know ALL about how that feels telling someone that.

Low income folks, the elderly, the homebound need all the assistance we can give them to get to the polls, be able to stand in line and VOTE in the polls...there are so many volunteers needed...if you can find the time to organize a car pools to pick and and drive, become an Election Protection volunteer, organize help for seniors on absentee voting..ANYTHING....please do.

[AtomicKitten]

8. Apparently the "low information" voters got themselves some information.

:thumbsup: