RENO " The vice presidential selections of Barack Obama and John McCain have little effect on voter preference in Nevada, according to a statewide poll released Friday.
Fifty-eight percent of 600 likely voters surveyed said Sarah Palin's pick will have no effect on whether they vote for McCain, and 65 percent said Joe Biden's selection will have no effect on whether they vote for Obama.
The poll was conducted Oct. 3-6 for by Maryland-based Research 2000. It had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Twenty-two percent of those surveyed said Palin's pick would make them less likely or much less likely to vote for McCain, and 20 percent said it would make them more or much more likely to vote for the Republican presidential candidate.
By comparison, 13 percent said Biden's selection would make them less likely or much less likely to vote for Obama, and 22 percent said it would make them more or much more likely to vote for the Democratic contender.
Fifty-five percent said they had little or no confidence in Palin's qualifications and experience to be president, while 68 percent said they were confident in Biden's qualifications and experience.
The poll shows Palin's image is suffering more among women than men. Sixty percent of women said they lack confidence in her, compared with 50 percent of men.
"The McCain pick (of Palin) is maybe the most bizarre thing I've ever seen," said pollster Del Ali of Research 2000. "I still scratch my head."
Thirty-six percent of Republicans surveyed said she makes them more likely to vote for McCain.