McCain Campaign Calls For Investigation of Alleged Push Polling

Dan Gorenstein's picture
By Dan Gorenstein on Friday, November 16, 2007.
listen: Listen with Windows Media PlayerListen with an MP3 Player

Senator John McCain's campaign wants the Attorney General Office to investigate claims of push polling.

New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein has more.

Web resources:

A push poll sounds like a political survey phone call but is an effort to plant negative messages about a candidate or issue.

Under New Hampshire law, a push poller must inform the person contacted who the call is being made on behalf of and provide a phone number. According to the Associated Press, that hasn't been provided in certain calls made over the last week.

Allegedly the calls praise McCain and slam Mitt Romney for his Mormon faith and Vietnam draft deferments.

Campaign vice chair Chuck Douglas hand-delivered the complaint.

"We find the whole thing a very bad trend eight weeks or so from the primary."

Douglas, staffers and press then boarded McCain's bus, the Straight Talk Express. They were off to pick up the Arizona Senator from the airport, who's campaigning here for the next few days.

For NHPR News, I'm Dan Gorenstein.

Related news:

Monday, May 5, 2008
State Dems Claim Unity As Obama And Clinton Battle On

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Advocates Push for Impeachment Resolution

Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Will the 9th Time Be a Charm?

Related shows:

Wednesday, May 7, 2008
North Carolina and Indiana Primary Recap

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Pennsylvania Primary Recap

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
China and the 2008 Elections

NPR News