For quite a while, there were certain trends that political observers were simply supposed to accept as fact: Barack Obama would struggle to win support from Latino voters. And Jewish voters. And working-class, low-income voters. These were obvious “truths” that “everyone” knew.<\/p>\n
Except none of these observations are holding up well. Obama is doing very well with Latino voters<\/a>, Jewish voters<\/a>, and according to a new Washington Post report, working-class, low-income voters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Democratic Sen. Barack Obama holds a 2 to 1 edge over Republican Sen. John McCain among the nation’s low-wage workers, but many are unconvinced that either presidential candidate would be better than the other at fixing the ailing economy or improving the health-care system, according to a new national poll.<\/p>\n Obama’s advantage is attributable largely to overwhelming support from two traditional Democratic constituencies: African Americans and Hispanics. But even among white workers — a group of voters that has been targeted by both parties as a key to victory in November — Obama leads McCain by 10 percentage points, 47 percent to 37 percent, and has the advantage as the more empathetic candidate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Let’s not brush past this point too quickly — among low-income whites, Obama leads McCain by 10. To be sure, about one in six of the white workers remains uncommitted, but at least for now, Obama seems to have a sizable lead with a constituency that was rumored to be a lost cause up until fairly recently. Nearly two-thirds of the white workers surveyed want the government to make lower gas prices a “top priority,” something McCain pitched earlier this year in advocating for a suspension of the federal gas tax. One respondent was particularly clear on this point: “I’ll vote for whoever can bring the price of gas down,” said Brian Levesque, 25, a social worker from Lansdale, Pa.<\/p>\n But slightly more, seven in 10, say government should focus on helping people like them find more affordable health insurance, a core component of Obama’s campaign. Just over four in 10 favor placing a top priority on tax cuts or on creating jobs through an expansion of public works projects.<\/p>\n Overall, the survey suggests that Obama’s economic appeals have the most resonance with white workers who are under the greatest financial stress. He leads by 19 percentage points among those white workers who feel “very insecure” financially; that is more than double his advantage among those in the group who feel better off.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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