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THE INDEPENDENT AND IMPARTIAL STATEWIDE SURVEY OF PUBLIC OPINION
ESTABLISHED AND OPERATED BY FIELD RESEARCH CORPORATION SINCE 1946
>
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Headquarters
145 Montgomery Street
San FrancIsco 94104
Office
3142 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles 90005
385-5259
392-5766
Mervin O. Field, Director
Robert Heyer, Editor
•
COPYRIGHT 1972 BY FIELD RESEARCH CORPORATION. FOR PUBLICATION BY SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
For release
Release # 750
THURSDAY, MAY 18, 1972
IMPORTANT: Contract for this service is subject to i~
vocation if publ ication or broadcast takes place befor
release date or if contents of report are divulged to
persons outside of subscriber staff prior to release tirrt"
SHARP DIVISION IN VOTER APPRAISAL
OF AGNEW AS V. P. CANDIDATE
by Mervin D. Field
In less than 90 days, President Richard Nixon will have to make and disclose an important decision in
respect to his own re-election campaign. Will he have Spiro Agnew as his vice presidential candidate or will he
opt for someone else?
Agnew vaulted into national prominence four years ago at the Republican Convention when he was a las
minute surprise selection by Nixon for the v. p. spot. In accepting the nomination in 1968, Agnew admitted the
that he was
II
not a household word." However, almost four years of continuous widespread publicity has madea'
deep impression on the publ ic and the former Maryland Governor is now awell-known, highly controversial figure
Agnew as a personality is virtually a living definition of the current political tes-m "polarization." His
supporters, and there are many, are wildly enthusiastic about him. His detractors, and there are many, are oper
hostile toward him.
The California Poll has found in its most recent survey that the sharp division in voter appraisal of Agne
as'it has been found in previous surveys stili persists in this state.'
"Would you like to have spiro Agnew as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate in this
year's election or would you like to have some other person run with President Nixon?1I
Running mate for Nixon
May
February
1972
1972
39%
44
like to have Agnew
Other person
Don't know
17
..:.-.....,4~0°;.,Y<,,---
42
18
Preference for Agnew follows p.?rty Iines to some extent, but not as sharply as some other partisan' issue~
While more Democrats (51%) would like to have some other person as Nixon's running mate, 29% say they prefel
Agnew in this spot. As far as Republ icans are concerned, 55% would Iike Agnew renominated, but a significant
segment of GOP'ers (35%) woLJld drop him from the number two position.
I
Agnew appeals mostly to those people who style themsel,ves pol itically conservative (regardless of their
party preference) and people over 50 years of age.
( MORE)
The California Poll was founded In 1946 as a medium for promoting public opinion reS83rch ThE Call/ornla Poll IS complcl8ly mdependent of all political parries and candidates Its sole purpose IS to reporl
nubllc opmlon accurately and oblectlvely Financial supporl for the Poll comes from newspapers and teleVISion stations rhal have exclusive lights wllhln the :IIY of publication. The Poll utilizes accepted
sClemillc sampling and questioning procedures In oblalmn, the data reporred In ItS releases. Represenlallve samples 01 adults are Interviewed al periodiC '"lervals on election Issues Jnrl olher SOCially
Imp on ant questions of me day. Propol\lonate numbers of people 01 botn seles, !rom all parts 01 tne Slate, Irom dillerenl Sized communities. and of all age, economiC, poll\lcal, and occupallon groups are
Included in the samples. Malor surveys are made with samples of 1,000 01 mOle respondents. Intellm surveys sometimes are made with smaller samples of 101 less than 600 InterViews,
,
.
- - - -­ Jhe California Poll - page 2
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Those who classify themselves as politically " middle-of-the-roaders" are about evenly split regarding
Agnew. Liberals are most antipathetic as are voters in the 18 to 34 year old age category.
As running mate for Nixon
Like
Like someAgnew
body else
39%
Statewide
44
51
35
50
Democrats
Republ icans
Other
29%
55%
25%
Conservatives
M idd Ie -of-roaders
Liberals
53%
41%
20%
33
44
61
18 - 24
25 - 34
35 - 49
50 - 69
70 and over
28%
31%
36%
48%
55%
56
57
47
34
22
.
•
Despite the growing importance being attached to the office?f vice president, the fundamental require­
ment of a good vice presidential candidate is that he should not offend too many voters and he should ~ppeal to
some important political power group. It is well demonstrated that Agnew appeals to politically conservative
people, a group which has become less supportive of Nixon recently because of his positions and actions on a
number of domestic and foreign pol icy issues.
Nixon may want to appease this group on the right by retaining
Agnew.
On the other side of Nixon's dilemma is the possibility that Agnew might prove to be more of a drag thar
a boost , costing the GOP ticket some vital votes needed to win in what is shaping up to be a very close Novembe
election.
- 30­
COPYRIGHT 1972 BY FIELD RESEARCH CORPORATION. FOR PUBLICATION BY SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
------------------------------------
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"
THE INDEPENDENT AND IMPARTIAL SfATEWIDE SURVEY OF PUBLIC OPINION
ESTABLISHED AND OPERATED BY FIELD RESEARCH CORPORATION SINCE 1946
san Francisco
Headquamrs
145 Montgomery Street
San Fr(]nciscO 94104
392-5766
Los Angeles Ollice
3142 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles 90005
385-5259
Mervin 0 Field, Director
Robert Heyer, Editor
INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SURVEY
Dates of intervi ewi ng:
April 26 - May 1, 1972
Population covered by
this survey:
Representative cross-seetioll of California adult public.
Number of interviews:
An overall sample of 838 registered voters. 466 Democrats, 310 Republ icans, and
62 other and decl ine to state.
5ampl e design:
The survey interviews are selected in accordance with a probability sample design
which provides for random (i. e., non-iudgmental) sel ection of households. Assignments
in a particular place ore done in clusters with. randomly drawn addresses as starting
points fo': each cluster of interviews. For this survey, 240 clusters throughout the state
were selected. Each cluster consisted of a set of consecutive households beginning with
the designated starting household. Interviewers made up to three calls on every listed
address in an attempt to complete an interview. One adult per household was selected
for interview on a systematic basis to provide a balance by sex and age. Interviewing
was conduded during late afternoon and evening on weekdays and all day on the week­
end. The sample is designed to be sel f-weighted on all variables of interest, such as
area of state, degree of urbanization, pol itical party affiliation, and socio-economic
status . .Whenever imbalances in key variables occur in the sample due to sampling
variabil ity or other factors, corrective weights are applied during the data processing
stage to return the sample to proper proportion.
Vording of the
uestions on which
his report is based:
"Would you Iike to have Spiro Agnew as the Republ ican Vice Presidential candidate
in this year's election or would you like to have some other person run with
President Nixon?"
[See rever~e side for answers to some typical questions
about the Poll]
The Ca 'ilornl3 roll was founded In 1946 as a medium lor p'omotlng public Opinion research. The Call/ornla 1'01115 completely Independent 01 all poll[;cal parlles and cdndldares.lts sole pdrpose IS ro report
publiC oprnlon accurately and obiCCllvely. FinanCial supporr lor Ihe Poll comes from newspapers and relevision stallons Ilrar have exclUSive lights wllhrn the cllY 01 publlcallon. The Poll utilizes accepred
sClentll,c sampling and questioning irocedures In obtaining the data rePOlled In
I\S
releases. Represenralive samples 01 adulrs are Interviewed at periodic Intervals on elecllon Issues and other SOCially
Imporlant questions ot the day. Proporllonare numbers of people 01 b0111 sexes, tram all parts ot the stale, Irom dlfferenr Sized commUnlll8S, and oi all age, eConOPlI:, polillcal, and occuparlon groups are
rncluded In the samples. Major surveys are made With samples of 1,000 or more respondents. Illlerrm surveys sometimes are made With smaller samples 01 not les:: than 600 Interviews.
. , WtI,:· 1M f
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