Rockers are going to vote...in droves

If local election officials thought that turnout for the Presidential primaries was big, just wait until the November elections. They’d better be prepared for longer lines than they’ve ever conceived, according to Jacobs Media’s newest Media/Technology Web Poll IV, which finds incredibly strong interest in the upcoming Presidential Election among fans of Rock, Classic Rock, and Alternative radio stations. Overall, 84% of its more than 27,000 respondents say they plan to vote in the Presidential contest in November.

As for their party affiliations, 30% describe themselves as Democrats, while 22% identify their politics as Republican. Notably, 21% call themselves Independents. And 26% either name a different party, prefer not to answer, or simply refuse to categorize themselves as a member of any political party.

Women and fans of Alternative radio skew toward the Democratic side of the aisle, while men and Classic Rockers lean Republican.

Instead of pairing off the Democratic and Republican frontrunners with one-another, the survey simply asked a flat-out beauty contest question about overall Presidential candidate preference based on who was still in the race at the time of the Poll.

Among those who say they are likely to vote, Barack Obama is the leader, garnering more than one-fourth of those planning on casting a ballot in the election (26%). John McCain comes in second (22%), followed by Hillary Clinton (18%), Mike Huckabee – still in the race at the time the poll was conducted (6%), and Ron Paul (5%). Interestingly, Ralph Nader who was a last-minute addition before the poll went to the field captures 1% of the overall vote.

Obama is a strong choice among fans of the Alternative format (four in 10 support him), along with more than one-third of 18-34 year-olds. He also wins the 25-54 segment, but McCain runs a close second among this older audience. Clinton’s strongest segment is among women (although Obama edges her out there, too). McCain is the top choice for the Oval Office for men and Classic Rock partisans.