McCain or Obama? 30% voted against, not for

John McCain managed to beat Barack Obama in Arizona at least in part because some voters were afraid of the Democratic nominee, according to a new statewide survey.

Pollster Bruce Merrill said he found that 23 percent of the people questioned who cast a ballot for McCain said they did so primarily not because they liked him but because they did not want Obama as president. Merrill said reasons given ranged from simply not liking the Illinois senator to fears that he was a socialist and that he associated with terrorists.

Conversely, only 7 percent of the Obama voters said they supported him because of something they did not like about McCain.

But the Democrat did pick up some votes unrelated to his own record: Merrill said 11 percent of Obama supporters said they voted for him because they did not like President Bush or his policies. And Obama repeatedly tried to link McCain with the unpopular incumbent.

The balance of votes for both candidates came from those who actually liked something about each one.

In McCain's case, Merrill said, 22 percent considered him an experienced or qualified candidate. Another 21 percent liked his conservative values, with some of those people specifically mentioning his opposition to abortion.

And 7 percent said they appreciated McCain's military background.

Among Obama supporters, 18 percent said he represented change and a positive attitude, with another 14 percent talking about his youth, his confidence and his positive attitude.

Merrill, who conducted the survey for KAET-TV (Channel 8), the Phoenix PBS affiliate, said Arizonans were divided about McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. An equal number of those questioned rated it an excellent or good choice as considered it to be a bad or very bad decision.

The election also proved to be good for other Democrats running for federal office, with the state's congressional delegation now tilting 5-3 against the Republicans.

Merrill said 22 percent of those asked blamed Bush and his policies as president in general for the poor GOP performance. Another 14 percent singled out the failing economy and financial crisis, with 11 percent mentioning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Finally, Merrill also found that most Arizonans have little knowledge of the performance of the woman who, within months, could be the next governor. He said 57 percent said they don't know enough about Secretary of State Jan Brewer to say how she is doing in her current job.

Of those who felt comfortable rating her, 6 percent said she is doing an excellent job, with another 29 percent rating her as good.

By contrast, incumbent Gov. Janet Napolitano is rated excellent by 29 percent of those questioned and good by another 47 percent.

The survey of 780 registered voters, conducted earlier this month, has a margin of error of 3.5 percent.