Reality check: How the DVM presidential poll compared to the electorate
Veterinarians sided with McCain, but the general electorate went with Obama.
National Report
-856 people voted in a dvm360.com presidential poll, and a slight majority predicted a Republican win yesterday. Sen. John McCain secured 51 percent of the veterinary vote and 47 percent went to Sen. Barack Obama.
But just the opposite happened as president-elect Obama claimed victory late last night. This morning, Obama had 338-163 lead over his rival in electoral votes, and only 37 remained undecided. A candidate needs to secure 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
Unofficial results posted by CNN hailed Obama as the winner with 52 percent of the vote compared to McCain's 46 percent.
In a DVM News poll (Sept. 2008), nearly seven out of 10 veterinarians cited the economy as their top concern for this election. In comparison, about 60 percent of U.S. voters cited the downturn in the economy as the number one issue facing the country, according to exit polls from the Associated Press.
Other political issues on the minds of veterinarians include the war in Iraq (40 percent), health care (38 percent), gas prices/energy conservation (37 percent), defense/terrorism (27 percent), taxes (27 percent).
About half of voters are worried that the current economic crisis will harm their family's finances over the next year. Two-thirds of voters are worried they will be able to afford healthcare. Among veterinarians, health care was cited as one of the top five issues influencing their vote this year.
