Obama, McCain Tied Among Wealthy Voters

John McCain and Barack Obama each received 48% of the votes among likely voters in a survey by the American Affluence Research Center (AARC) in Atlanta. According to a press release, the survey is representative of the wealthiest 11.4 million households (as defined by net worth in the most recent Federal Reserve Board research) that will account for almost 25% of all votes to be cast in the presidential election.

About 4% of the likely voters indicated they had not made a decision or were supporting another candidate, according to the release. Wealthy men were clearly in favor of McCain, with 59% for McCain and 36% for Obama. Contrastingly, women respondents favored Obama 61% to 36%.

The respondents reported party affiliations of 42% as Republicans, 30% as Democrats, and 27% as Independents. The source of McCain’s support was 80% from people who considered themselves Republicans, 19% from Independents, and 1% from Democrats. The source of Obama’s support was 63% from Democrats, 31% from Independents, and 6% from Republicans. Overall, independents favored Obama 55% to 34% for McCain, according to the release.

Of 18 possible issues that were listed, the five issues most important to McCain’s supporters are state of the economy (48%), war on terrorism (33%), war in Iraq (29%), long term energy program (29%), and 2001 Bush tax cuts (27%).

The issues most important to Obama’s supporters are the economy (59%), war in Iraq (55%), universal health care (28%), foreign policy (28%), and energy program (26%).

The study surveyed 552 respondents with an average income of $304,000 and an average net worth of $3.1 million. The survey was completed September 25.