A political scientist whose team polls people in Iowa and across the Midwest says the economy might -not- be the top issue on the minds of voters this November. University of Minnesota professor Lawrence Jacobs is the head of the 2004 Elections Project. Jacobs says “This is really very unusual. Usually the economy dominates overall. Instead the situation with terrorism and the war in Iraq is really riveting the country at the moment.” Jacobs says the turmoil in Iraq, not the economy, will have a major impact on how people vote in November. He says “We’re seeing foreign policy as high on the agenda as at any point in the last couple decades.” Jacobs says health care and education are the other two hot political topics that will impact voting. The Elections Project keeps tabs on major elections and political concerns in the upper Midwest and posts polling data on its website. The address is “www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/csp/elections/”.
