A fairly safe rule of thumb in politics is that issues on the front burner today won't be 18 months from now. Likewise, just a couple of months ago, impeachment was the dominant issue, but since then, Kosovo and gun violence have eclipsed it. Who knows what will be the overarching issue six months from now?
It's a good bet that if the economy begins to slow between now and the election, then jobs and the economy will be at the forefront. But, if the economy remains strong, education, the environment and health care will likely be important. In the 1998 national exit poll by Voter News Service, 10,017 voters were asked which of seven issues "matter most" in their decision for the U.S. House. Of the seven, education ranked highest at 20 percent, followed by morals and ethics at 18 percent, the economy and jobs at 14 percent, taxes at 13 percent, Social Security at 12 percent, health care at 6 percent, and Clinton/Lewinsky at 5 percent.
Ever since that remarkable November 1991 special U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.