Leading Democratic Presidential Candidates More Desirable Neighbors Than Republicans

RISMEDIA, Jan. 3, 2008-As the Presidential primary season gets under way, a new poll reveals which candidates U.S. adults view as the most desired neighbors. Whether it’s in the White House or the house next door, Democratic candidates are in a dead heat and are preferred neighbors over Republicans, according to a survey(i) of 2,228 U.S. adults conducted by Harris Interactive(R) on behalf of real estate Web site Zillow.com.

Among all adults, Sen. Barack Obama barely edges out Sen. Hillary Clinton as the presidential candidate they would most like to be their neighbor in 2008 with 13 percent and 12 percent of the votes, respectively. Rounding out the top five are Republican candidates Fred Thompson (7%), Rudy Giuliani (6%) and Mike Huckabee (5%).

Neighbor Fence Lines Drawn by Party Lines

Among adults who consider themselves Democrats, Clinton and Obama remain neck-and-neck, with Clinton capturing a slight lead at 25 percent of Democratic votes, followed closely by Obama with 23 percent and Sen. John Edwards a distant third (8%). Among adults who consider themselves Republicans, it is a three-man race with Thompson (14%), Huckabee (13%) and Giuliani (12%) all closely ranked as the most desired neighbors for 2008. Obama is the favorite neighbor among Independents/Others (10%), followed by Thompson (8%) and Giuliani and Clinton (both 6%).

The Gender-Age Divide

Among men, Obama (11%) and Thompson (10%) are the top choices for neighbors in 2008, followed by Clinton (9%), Sen. John McCain (7%) and Huckabee (6%). For men aged 35-44, Clinton is the top choice (12%), followed closely by Giuliani (11%) and a tie between Thompson and Obama (9%). Men 55 and older do not seem to be as open to having a female presidential candidate neighbor as the younger generation — while half as many (6%) would like to have Clinton as their neighbor, peer Fred Thompson is the front runner with 11 percent of the vote in this gender-age bracket, followed by McCain (9%) and Obama (8%).

In the female camp, Clinton is the favorite (15%), slightly ahead of Obama (14%) followed by Giuliani (7%). Among 45-54 year-old women, twice as many would like to have Clinton (22%) as a neighbor than Obama (11%), followed by Giuliani (7%).

Geographic Preferences

Seems where you hang your hat affects who you want next door. Obama has a wider lead for chief neighbor in the Midwest (16%), while he and Clinton are tied (11%) in the West, followed by Republicans Mitt Romney and Thompson (6%). Clinton is the favorite neighbor among Southerners (13%), where Thompson and Obama are fighting for second (10%). In the Northeast, local residents Giuliani and Clinton are tied for second (11%), trailing Obama (15%).

Unwelcome to the Neighborhood

Many U.S. adults would rather not have a presidential candidate in their neighborhood, as 16 percent of all adults selected “none” when asked which candidate they would most like to have as neighbor in 2008.

Independents/Others, males aged 45-54 and women aged 35-44 feeling the strongest sentiment — all at about 20 percent.

For more information, visit www.Zillow.com.

(i)The Presidential Candidate Neighbors survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive within the United States between Dec. 13 and Dec. 17, 2007, among 2,228 adults ages 18+, of whom, 660 consider themselves Republican, 718 consider themselves Democrat, and 619 consider themselves Independent or other. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical estimates of sampling error can be calculated.

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