CNHI Survey: Women prefer McCain

Republican presidential candidate John McCain would defeat both Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama in a presidential matchup, data from a survey conducted by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. shows.

The parent company of The Norman Transcript, CNHI owns more than 200 news outlets in 22 states. CNHI conducted the survey on the company’s newspaper Web sites between March 6 and March 15. While it didn’t use scientific methods, the survey did include ways to prevent respondents from participating more than once.

The survey — which was based on the Zoomerang Web site — received 2,123 responses.

“It gives an interesting look,” said Courtney Chojnacki, who supervised the survey. “It’s interesting how the women say they will vote.”

According to the survey, of the 2,132 who responded, a majority — 53 percent — were female, with the largest percentage of those falling in the 25- to 66-year-old age bracket.

Additionally, 42 percent of the respondents claimed membership in the Democratic Party, 37 percent Republican and 20 percent either Independent or undecided.

However, those Democrats may not help their party’s presidential nominee.

Of those who responded, 43 percent said they would vote for Republican John McCain in a race between Clinton and McCain with 36 percent supporting Clinton.

Twenty-two percent remain undecided.

In a race between McCain and Barack Obama, McCain, again, comes out on top with 47 percent for McCain and 33 percent for Obama; 20 percent, CHNI’s survey said, remain undecided.

Still, not all Democrats are worried by those numbers.

Oklahoma City-based Democratic political consultant Don Hoover said the survey is “pretty much meaningless.”

“Those kinds of Web surveys don’t count for much,” he said. “People are doing them because they are motivated one way or another. There’s not a chance of a random possibility.”

And while Hoover acknowledged he “wouldn’t be surprised” by a McCain win, he said the campaign season is still in the early stages.

“A McCain win would be due to the Republican nature of this state,” he said. “Oklahoma hasn’t voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 44 years. It’s more of a partisan gap than a gender gap.”

Yet even for Oklahoma Democrats there is some good news, Hoover said.

“There’s always some bleed during a presidential year. In terms of legislative candidates, which is what we have a majority of this year, they will have to work hard and fund strong campaigns, regardless of what’s going on at the top of the ticket.”