Issue Preferences and Candidate Choice in Presidential Primaries

Abstract

This study employs CBS News-New York Times primary election exit surveys for twenty 1976 presidential primaries to assess the impact of issue preferences upon candidate choice in presidential primaries. Findings indicate that issue-voting was slightly stronger in the 1976 Republican primaries than in the 1976 Democratic primaries, but that issues generally do not predict the outcomes of the 1976 primaries very well. Some consequences of issue-voting (or the absence thereof) for governing are suggested.