Poll: Economy is biggest issue by far

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Concern over the economy is by far the most pressing issue on U.S. voters' minds as they head into Tuesday's presidential election, a survey indicated.

In fact, the 55 percent of Gallup Poll respondents who rated the economy as "extremely important" in their presidential voting decision is the highest given any issue during the last four presidential elections, pollsters said in a release Wednesday.

The economy, which has risen by 14 points since the start of the year, easily outranked a cluster of six other issues grouped together in second place at between 40 percent and 44 percent of respondents who characterized them as "extremely important": the federal budget deficit, terrorism, energy and gas prices, Iraq, healthcare and taxes.

Energy was the only issue aside from the economy that ranked in the top five concerns among Democrats, Republicans and independents, said the Gallup Organization, which is based in Princeton, N.J.

The poll conducted Oct. 23-26, included 1,010 respondents and had an error margin of 3 percentage points.