Importance of Representative's Race (May 2011)

Importance of Representative's Race (May 2011)

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    Respondents were asked, "How important is it to you that your elected representative is the same race or ethnicity as you?"
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categorycolumn-1
Very Important3%
Somewhat Important10%
Not at all Important 83%
Don't know3%
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    Respondents were asked, "How important is it to you that your elected representative is the same race or ethnicity as you?" Measurement of Party ID for this figure is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or "other" were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only "pure" independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents. Respondents who answered that they are "not sure" for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this figure.
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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Very Important5%1%3%
Somewhat Important11%13%9%
Not at all Important 80%82%87%
Don't know4%4%1%
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    Respondents were asked, "How important is it to you that your elected representative is the same race or ethnicity as you?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean RepublicanNot very strong RepublicanStrong Republican
Very Important2%3%3%
Somewhat Important9%5%11%
Not at all Important 88%92%84%
Don't know2%0%2%
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    Respondents were asked, "How important is it to you that your elected representative is the same race or ethnicity as you?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean DemocratNot very strong DemocratStrong Democrat
Very Important0%3%8%
Somewhat Important7%17%9%
Not at all Important 91%78%77%
Don't know2%2%6%
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    Respondents were asked, "How important is it to you that your elected representative is the same race or ethnicity as you?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
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categoryLiberalsModeratesConservatives
Very Important3%5%3%
Somewhat Important5%16%8%
Not at all Important 91%71%88%
Don't know1%8%1%
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    Respondents were asked, "How important is it to you that your elected representative is the same race or ethnicity as you?" The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning conservativeSomewhat conservativeExtremely conservative
Very Important1%3%3%
Somewhat Important5%8%11%
Not at all Important 91%87%86%
Don't know2%1%1%
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    Respondents were asked, "How important is it to you that your elected representative is the same race or ethnicity as you?" The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning liberalSomewhat liberalExtremely liberal
Very Important2%1%5%
Somewhat Important10%2%2%
Not at all Important 87%94%92%
Don't know0%3%0%
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    Respondents were asked, "How important is it to you that your elected representative is the same race or ethnicity as you?" Tea Party identification is based on the following question, also asked in the survey: "Suppose the Tea Party movement organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district, or the Tea Party candidate from your district?" Those who responded "Republican candidate" are considered Republicans (non-Tea Party movement) and those who responded "Tea Party candidate" are considered Tea Party Republicans.
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categoryDemocratRepublicanTea Party
Very Important6%8%1%
Somewhat Important9%13%11%
Not at all Important 81%79%87%
Don't know5%0%1%
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    Respondents were asked, "How important is it to you that your elected representative is the same race or ethnicity as you?" Race is calculated according to the RACE1 variable.
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categoryWhiteBlackHispanic
Very Important3%9%2%
Somewhat Important7%17%14%
Not at all Important 87%73%81%
Don't know3%1%4%
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    Respondents were asked, "How important is it to you that your elected representative is the same race or ethnicity as you?" Gender is calculated according to the GENDER variable.
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categoryMaleFemale
Very Important3%4%
Somewhat Important9%11%
Not at all Important 86%81%
Don't know2%5%
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    Respondents were asked, "How important is it to you that your elected representative is the same race or ethnicity as you?" Location is based on the following question, "Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
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categoryUrbanSuburbanRural
Very Important3%4%3%
Somewhat Important7%11%11%
Not at all Important 84%83%83%
Don't know6%2%3%
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    Respondents were asked, "How important is it to you that your elected representative is the same race or ethnicity as you?" Education is calculated according to the EDUC variable.
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categoryNo high schoolHigh school graduateSome college2-year4-yearPost-grad
Very Important4%4%1%8%4%0%
Somewhat Important18%11%10%6%7%14%
Not at all Important 72%80%87%83%85%86%
Don't know7%5%1%2%4%0%

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