PolitickerME surveyed 88 random people about their political views and attitudes toward the media during last weekend’s rallies and caucuses.

Of them, 29 were Hillary Clinton supporters, 46 were Barack Obama supporters, and 13 did not specify a preferred candidate.

Surveys were handed out at the Hillary Clinton rally in Orono, the Barack Obama rally in Bangor, the Bangor caucus and the Augusta caucus. This survey was geared toward Democrats. We will administer a survey for Republicans at a later date.

Please note that this survey is not intended to be an accurate representation of where Mainers stand in the presidential race, rather a sampling of the views held by supporters of each candidate.

The questions are as follows, outlined in detail below:

Demographics: Age, gender, town and occupation

Thoughts on the presidential race: Is this your first time involved in politics? Did you support another candidate before Clinton or Obama?

Political ideology: Where do you see yourself on the scale between liberal and conservative?

Media coverage: Where do you get your news, and what do you think of media coverage these days?

Other national races: Do you know who’s running for the U.S. House and Senate? If so, who do you support?

Demographics: We asked people for their age, gender, town and occupation.

Obama supporters are younger, and more evenly distributed between males and females. Clinton supporters are predominantly females in their 40s.

Obama supporters: If you listen to the national media, it was pretty much what you’d expect – the bulk of his supporters were younger than 35. However, there were nine supporters – about one-fifth of those surveyed, in their 50s. Most of those surveyed were from Penobscot and Kennebec counties. The gender spread was about even, with 20 males and 26 females. In the mix were 11 students, seven educators, three retirees and a variety of other professions.

Age results: 20 and younger: 8 people; 20s: 13 people; 30s: 5 people; 41s: 4 people; 50s: 9 people; 60s: 3 people; 70 and older: 3 people.

Clinton supporters: Again, much like the national polls suggest, the majority of the supporters we found were female – 26 women and three men filled out our survey. The age spread was about even across the board, with the most common age groups being people in their 40s and 50s. Most people filling out our survey were from Penobscot and Kennebec counties, and the most common occupations were health and human services professions (eight) and students (eight). Five retirees also responded.

Age results: 20 and younger: 4 people; 20s: 3 people; 30s: 3 people; 40s: 8 people; 50s: 5 people; 60s: 3 people; 70 and older: 3 people.

Others: Among the 13 people who did not choose a candidate, six of them were 25 and younger, and the rest were between 46 and 60. There were seven females and six males.

The presidential race: We asked people if they previously supported any of the candidates who dropped out – they were allowed to select more than one answer. We asked them if this was their first time being involved in the political process.

Most people attending these events said Clinton and Obama were their first choices, and most had been engaged before. We did find eight people in the Obama crowd and four people in the Clinton crowd who were previous John Edwards supporters, along with several supporting other candidates.

Obama supporters: Of the 46 responding, 14 said they had supported a candidate who had dropped out. With respondents being allowed to choose more than one answer, John Edwards had 8 votes, Dennis Kucinich had 5 votes, Chris Dodd had 3 votes and Bill Richardson had 2 votes.

Despite the amount of young people responding, only seven people said this was their first time involved in the political process. There were 38 who said they had some degree of involvement in the past.

Clinton supporters: Of the 29 responding, seven said they had supported a candidate who dropped out. Edwards had three votes, and Kucinich, Richardson and Joe Biden had two votes apiece. Of the Clinton supporters, only four said this was their first time being involved in the process – 24 said they had some degree of involvement before.

Others: Of the people who did not specify a candidate, one person said this was their first time being involved in the process, and 12 said they had been involved before. Four said they were previous Edwards supporters, 3 said they supported Kucinich, 2 said they supported Biden and one said they supported Richardson.

Political ideology: We drew a line between the words “liberal” and “conservative”, and asked people to put a dot where they saw themselves.

Clinton supporters were slightly to the left of Obama supporters.

Obama supporters: More than half of the respondents put themselves to the left of the spectrum, not surprisingly. There were 7 people to the absolute left and 31 people in between “liberal” and “moderate” – 19 closer to liberal and 12 closer to moderate. There were 3 people on the moderate line, and 3 people in between “moderate” and “conservative” – one closer to moderate and two closer to conservative. No one put themselves to the far right.

Clinton supporters: Again, to no one’s surprise, most respondents put themselves on the left end of the spectrum. There were 3 people to the absolute left and 21 people in between “liberal” and “moderate” – 12 closer to liberal and 9 closer to moderate. There were 3 people on the moderate line, and 2 people in between “moderate” and “conservative” – one closer to moderate and one closer to conservative. No one put themselves to the far right.

Others: Among the “others” there were 2 people to the absolute left and 6 people in between “liberal” and “moderate” – 4 closer to liberal and 2 closer to moderate. There were 2 people on the moderate line, and 3 people in between “moderate” and “conservative” – all closer to moderate.

Media coverage: We drew a line in between the words “fantastic” and “horrible”, and asked people to put a dot where their opinion was on media coverage of the presidential race. Then we asked them where they got their news – they were allowed to choose more than one answer.

While most people on both sides got their news from traditional mediums – newspapers and television – more Obama supporters depend on public radio and the alternative media to stay up-to-date.

Obama supporters: Most Obama supporters placed themselves in the middle when it came to thoughts on the media. One person said media coverage was fantastic. 12 people put a dot in between “fantastic” and the middle of the chart – with 5 closer to “fantastic” and seven closer to the middle. 18 people put the dot right in the middle of the line. Nine people put the dot in between the middle and “horrible” – 8 closer to the middle and one closer to “horrible.” Four people put a dot to the far right, indicating absolute distaste of the media.

Obama supporters get their news from the following sources – ranked in order of popularity (remember, they were allowed to pick more than one): Public radio (28); National television (26); Local newspapers (21); Local television (19); Alternative media (19); National newspapers (10); Other radio (7) and blogs (5).

Clinton supporters: Most Clinton supporters also placed themselves in the middle when it came to thoughts on the media. One person said media coverage was fantastic. 9 people put a dot in between “fantastic” and the middle of the chart – with 4 closer to “fantastic” and 5 closer to the middle. 8 people put the dot right in the middle of the line. Nine people put the dot in between the middle and “horrible” – 4 closer to the middle and five closer to “horrible.” One person put a dot to the far right, indicating absolute distaste of the media.

Clinton supporters get their news from the following sources – ranked in order of popularity (remember, they were allowed to pick more than one): National television (25); Local television (14); Local newspapers (12); National newspapers (11); Public radio (11); Alternative media (5); Other radio (4); Blogs (3).

Others: Again, the “others” found themselves in the middle. One person said media coverage was fantastic. 7 people put a dot in between “fantastic” and the middle of the chart – with 1 closer to “fantastic” and 6 closer to the middle. 2 people put the dot right in the middle of the line. Two people put the dot in between the middle and “horrible” – 1 closer to the middle and 1 closer to “horrible.” No one was to the far right.

Here is where the “others” get their news: National television (9); Local television (8); Local newspapers (6); Public radio (5); National newspapers (3); Alternative media (2); Other radio (1) and blogs (1).

Finally, we asked the respondents if they were familiar with the candidate running for the U.S. House and Senate, and if so who they preferred. We purposely did not list the candidates running, to see how familiar respondents were with the races.

Most people did not name a candidate for either House or Senate. Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud were the only House candidates people could name.

Obama supporters: For the U.S. Senate, Tom Allen got 14 votes. No other candidates were mentioned. 15 people said they were familiar with the candidates, but undecided. 13 people said they were not familiar with the candidates.

For the U.S. House, Chellie Pingree got 4 votes and Mike Michaud got 5 votes. No other candidates were mentioned. 15 people said they were familiar with the candidates, but undecided. 16 people said they were not familiar with the candidates.

Clinton supporters: For the U.S. Senate, Tom Allen got seven votes and Susan Collins got one vote. One people wrote Olympia Snowe’s name. No other candidates were mentioned. 10 people said they were familiar with the candidates, but undecided. 8 people said they were not familiar with the candidates.

For the U.S. House, Chellie Pingree got 2 votes and Mike Michaud got 2 votes. No other candidates were mentioned. 8 people said they were familiar with the candidates, but undecided. 15 people said they were not familiar with the candidates.

Others: For the U.S. Senate, 2 people supported Allen and one person supported Collins. 4 said they were familiar, but undecided. 5 said they were not familiar with the candidates.

For the U.S. House, Chellie Pingree got 1 vote and Mike Michaud got 1 vote. No other candidates were mentioned. 3 people said they were familiar with the candidates, but undecided. 7 people said they were not familiar with the candidates.