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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Ohio Primary and the General Election

Q: Has any presidential candidate won the general election without winning the Ohio primary?
A: Yes. Richard Nixon did it in 1968, and John Kennedy in 1960. But "favorite son" candidates won the Ohio contest both those years.

McCain Voting With Democrats More Than GOP?

Q: Is it true that even though John McCain calls himself a Republican, he has sided more with the Dems than with the Repubs?

A: Not true at all. He voted in support of President Bush 95 percent of the time last year, for example.

Violent Crimes and Handgun Ownership

Q: Are violent crimes more or less common in areas where handgun ownership is higher?
A:
Some studies have found that murder rates (not crime rates in general) are higher where guns are more prevalent. But social scientists have not found a direct causal relationship between the two factors.

World Trade Center Victims

Q: How many World Trade Center victims were from outside the U.S.?

A: About 21 percent were born outside the U.S., but only 1 percent were residents of foreign countries.

John McCain’s Presidential Eligibility

Q: How can Panamanian-born McCain be elected president?
A: Though born abroad, he is considered a natural-born U.S. citizen.
FULL QUESTION:
I understand John McCain was born in Panama. Doesn’t that make him ineligible to be president? I thought the Constitution said you had to have been born in a state.
FULL ANSWER:
John McCain’s father was an admiral in the U.S.

Vice President Bill Clinton?

Q: Could former President Bill Clinton be vice president?
A: Probably not, but it’s an untested constitutional conundrum.

Cell Phones and Political Polls

Q: Are polls skewed because many people only have cell phones?
A: Poll-takers worry a lot about this. A recent study indicates that polling results aren't yet affected very much. We're not so sure.