Independents, increasingly secular, poised to swing race in 2008
 Independents, which fifty years ago comprised just one-fifth of the US voting population and now comprise 30 percent of the US electorate are poised to swing the 2008 presidential race according to a new poll released Sunday.
"Independents split their votes between President Bush and Kerry in 2004 but shifted decisively to the Democrats in 2006, providing critical support in the Democratic takeover of the House and the Senate," the Washington Post notes, writing about the study commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University.
Independents continue to lean Democrat, the study says, noting broad dissatisfaction with President Bush's handling of Iraq.
"Two-thirds say the war was not worth fighting, three in five think the United States cannot stabilize Iraq, and three in five believe that the campaign against terror can succeed without a clear victory in Iraq," the Post says.
Interestingly, independents tend to lean secular -- perhaps why they're favoring Democrats today.
"Four in 10 in the new study would like to see religion have less influence on politics and public life than it does now," the Post notes. "Almost a fifth say they have no religion.
But they're not just vexed by Bush -- these swing voters are also frustrated with politics in general.
"The survey found frustration with political combat in Washington and widespread skepticism toward the major parties -- perhaps enough to provide the spark for an independent candidacy by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg," the Post says. "Seventy-seven percent of independents say they would seriously consider an independent presidential candidate, and a majority say they would consider supporting Bloomberg, whose recent shift in party registration from Republican to unaffiliated stoked speculation about a possible run in 2008."
"In the 2006 elections, independents split 57 percent to 39 percent for the Democrats, the largest margin either party has received from independents in a congressional election since national exit polls began measuring the House vote in 1976," the paper added.
Read the full Post story here.
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