Race, Sex and Age in the US Election

The 2008 US presidential election will produce either the first African-American President; or the oldest first-term President and the first woman Vice-President. A recent Harris Poll probed into the difficult areas of racism, sexism and ageism, and the part they are likely to play.

Unsurprisingly, Harris says the results suggest that all three prejudices are likely to play 'a part' and that it's difficult to quantify with any accuracy given people's tendency not to admit to, or not to recognise, their own prejudice. However, the poll makes interesting comparisons and probes the misreporting problem with a subtle follow-up. It should be noted that the poll was conducted before John McCain nominated Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Harris says that 'ageism - specifically John McCain's age - is potentially a more serious barrier to election than racism - specifically Barack Obama's race'.

Most Americans say they would be neither pleased nor displeased if a black, female or a candidate over 70 were elected - 72% say that the sex, age or race of the candidate should make 'absolutely no difference'. However, among those not in this group, most would be pleased rather than displeased by the election of a woman (37% pleased vs 11% displeased) or an African-American (30% vs 11%); while most would be displeased (32% vs 9% pleased) by the election of someone aged over 70.

However, the gap may be narrower than results from the direct question suggest. Harris notes: Our research experience suggests that these results may underestimate the number of people who might be influenced by prejudices such as sexism, ageism, or racism because some people are reluctant to admit to their prejudices or may believe they are not prejudiced when they are. It therefore includes a projective question asking respondents if they think that people they knew might hesitate to vote for a candidate because of his or her race, sex or age. On this question, fully 52% of all adults believe that people they know would be at least somewhat hesitant to vote for someone over 70; but almost as many believe that people they know would be somewhat hesitant to vote for an African-American (48%) or a woman (45%).

In conclusion, Harris suggests that 'it is not so much the race or age of a candidate that matters as the extent to which a candidate looks, talks and behaves like an old person or a black candidate that makes the biggest difference' and notes that 'the importance of Obama's race and McCain's age may well change between now and Election Day, influenced by events, smear tactics or political advertising.'

The poll surveyed 2,710 adults online between August 11 and 17. The company is online at www.harrisinteractive.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.