Key Points
- 53 percent favor McCain, 29 percent percent favor Obama
- Top issues of concern: The economy, health care, and the Iraq war
- Universal healthcare: 51 percent opposed, 30 percent in favor, 18 percent undecided
- Pharmacists who have contacted their reps in Congress in the past 2 years: 50 percent
John McCain
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Sen. Barack Obama and the Democrats have been trying to convince voters that electing Sen. John McCain would represent a continuation
of the Bush administration. But many of the nation's pharmacists aren't buying it.
Barack Obama
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That was one of the chief results to emerge from the 2008 Drug Topics presidential survey. While 45 percent of survey respondents believe the Bush presidency has been bad for pharmacy, more than
half — 53 percent — still plan to vote for McCain. The survey's findings are consistent with pharmacists' historical preference for the GOP. Sixty-one percent of respondents
reported they cast their votes for George W. Bush in 2004, versus 30 percent for Democrat John Kerry. In fact, pharmacists
have reported a preference for the Republican candidate in every election since Drug Topics began presidential polling in 1980.
This year's poll was conducted between August 19 and August 26. The magazine e-mailed the survey to 58,641 pharmacists, of
whom 1,694 responded, for a response rate of 3 percent. Among the poll's other findings:
- By a margin of 53 percent to 29 percent, respondents expressed a preference for McCain over Obama, with 15 percent undecided
and 2 percent planning to vote for one of the other candidates.
- Respondents believe the most important issue facing the country is the state of the economy (78 percent), followed by health
care (50 percent) and the Iraw war (39 percent). In 2004, by comparison, the top three issues of concern were the economy
(67 percent), health care (51 percent) and homeland security/defense (44 percent). Perhaps reflecting the further time elapsed
since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, only 9 percent of respondents cited homeland security/terrorism as a pressing issue in 2008.
- The top issues facing pharmacy, according to poll respondents, are Medicaid rate cuts (59 percent), universal health care
and how to deal with people lacking health insurance (43 percent) and the high cost of prescription drugs (42 percent).
- More than half (52 percent) of respondents say that Medicare Part D needs to be reformed to allow government price negotiation
with drug companies, while 23 percent don't believe that it needs to be changed and 25 percent aren't sure.
- Fifty-one percent of respondents oppose enactment of a universal healthcare system, while 30 percent favor such a system and
18 percent are undecided.
- Eighteen percent believe that a McCain presidency would have a positive impact on pharmacy, with 19 percent forecasting an
unfavorable impact. By contrast, 14 percent of respondents believe that an Obama presidency would be good for pharmacy, while
36 percent think the impact would be negative.
- Pharmacists are fired up about the election. Ninety-six percent of survey respondents say they are registered to vote, with
nearly equal percentages (98.3 percent Republican and 97.6 percent Democratic) among the two major parties. Of those registered,
fully 98 percent plan to vote, either directly or by absentee ballot.
- Pharmacists are willing to express their views to lawmakers. Fifty percent said they have contacted their congressional representatives
with pharmacy-related concerns during the last two years. Medicaid rate cuts (59 percent) and Medicare Part D reform (48 percent)
were chief issues of concern.
- Not unexpectedly in a Republican-tilting profession, respondents are predominantly center-right in their political views.
Seventy-two percent describe themselves as "moderate" or "conservative" in their outlook, compared to 14.6 percent describing
themselves as "very liberal" or "liberal."
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