Voters believe that illegal immigration is the most serious problem facing Maricopa County, according to a new Cronkite/Eight Poll.
The poll, which was conducted among Maricopa County registered voters Nov. 15-18, found that 27 percent said that illegal immigration is the most serious problem, followed by concerns about access to affordable health care and health insurance, traffic congestion, air quality and other problems related to transportation. The poll also found that most voters feel the best way to deal with illegal immigration is to stop aliens at the border and to enforce existing laws.
The poll also found that Democrats in Maricopa County are almost twice as likely as Republicans to be enthused about their party’s slate of presidential candidates. Sen. John McCain was the favorite candidate for Republicans with 32 percent of the vote. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani received 22 percent of the Republican vote, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 14 percent, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with 9 percent, former Sen. Fred Thompson with 7 percent and Congressman Ron Paul with 4 percent.
Among Democrats, Sen. Hillary Clinton (41 percent) appears to be maintaining a sizeable lead over Sen. Barack Obama (23 percent). Former Sen. John Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson followed with 14 percent and 9 percent of the vote respectively.
Despite the recent launch of an effort to recall both Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, the poll revealed both officials receive favorable ratings from county voters. What’s more, voters provided little support for the recall.
The survey also found that 71 percent of those interviewed were aware of the arrests of two executives of the Phoenix New Times newspaper for allegedly violating grand jury secrecy rules. Among those who were aware of the issue, 49 percent felt the executives should not have been arrested, 34 percent said they should have been arrested and 17 percent did not express an opinion.