This June tracking poll finds that health care remains the top domestic issue that the public wants presidential candidates to address, trailing only Iraq on the public’s overall priority list.

Iraq ranks first among Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike. Health care ranks second among Democrats and Independents, while Republicans rank immigration second and health care third.  Immigration rose sharply as an issue in the new poll, which was taken as media attention focused on the Senate debate about immigration reform legislation. The economy (13%) and gas prices (12%) follow. 

The poll also measures the public’s perceptions of the presidential candidates on health issues. To date, most people don’t know or can’t know name the candidate who is placing the biggest emphasis on health or the candidate who most matches their own views.

The Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008 is part of a broader effort by the Kaiser Family Foundation to provide a central hub for resources and information about health policy issues in the 2008 election. The June poll was designed and analyzed by Foundation researchers and involved a nationally representative random sample of 1,203 adults, who were interviewed by telephone between May 31 and June 5. The margin of sampling error for the survey is plus or minus 3 percentage points; for results based on subgroups, the sampling error is higher.

 Key Findings

 Toplines