Poll position

Voters heard a lot about Iraq and the war on terrorism in last week’s debate, but the issue most on their minds is the economy, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll conducted Oct. 1-3.

Which issue would you like to hear about?

Economy 14%
Education 12%
Jobs/unemployment 9%
War 8%
Health care 8%

Whom exactly are New Jerseyites voting for this year? An Oct. 1-4 Quinnipiac University poll found that 82 percent of registered voters supporting President Bush said they are voting more for the president than against his opponent. Fourteen percent said they are voting more against Kerry.

But among Kerry backers, 42 percent said they are voting more for Kerry, versus 52 percent who just don’t want Bush to have a second term in office.

When President Bush and Sen. John Kerry take to the stage tomorrow night and again Wednesday, a lot of eyes will be watching them.

Likely to watch 88%
Not likely to watch 11%

A Pew poll conducted Oct. 1-3 by Princeton Research Associates International found that 88 percent of those surveyed are very or somewhat likely to watch the upcoming debates, while 11 percent won’t be tuning in.

Instead of a gender gap this year, there’s a marriage gap, according to a Sept. 20-23 Russell Sage College/Zogby International poll of 1,001 women. Single women favor Kerry to Bush by 66 percent to 34 percent, while married women back Bush over Kerry 52 percent to 41 percent. The poll had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

And married women whose husbands handle the family finances favor Bush over Kerry by a 3-to-1 ratio, 73 to 23 percent.Don’t be surprised to see Bush and Kerry visiting the suburbs. The Russell Sage/Zogby poll found that while voters favor Kerry over Bush in urban areas and Bush over Kerry in rural areas — both by large margins — the suburbs are up for grabs.

Bush 49%
Kerry 46%