NEW POLL SHOWS AMERICANS ARE SWEET FOR HILLARY CLINTON

Obama Trails Behind in Close Second While Capturing the Most Republican Support this Valentine’s Day

Vienna, Va.(January 29, 2008)— Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton will be showered with sweet support this Valentine’s Day holiday, according to the National Confectioners Association’s (NCA) latest poll. Among all candidates, Clinton won the most hearts with the majority of respondents, 18 percent, voting that they would most like to give her their support by giving her a box of chocolates this presidential campaign. Also reaping rewards of sweet returns, Democrats Barack Obama (14 percent) and John Edwards (6 percent) and Republican John McCain (5 percent) pulled through as strong contenders.

“On Valentine’s Day, the tradition of giving chocolate is a timeless symbol of affection. What better way to support candidates during February – especially on Super Tuesday – than with a classic box of chocolates,” said Larry Graham, President of the National Confectioners Association. “Regardless of party affiliation, the giving and receiving of chocolate is a classic way to show your love for friends and family at Valentine’s Day.”

Secret Admirers?

If showing support with boxed chocolates predicts who will become the next president, the Republican Party might need to sweeten up its campaign strategies. When it came to casting votes, one in ten Republicans (12 percent) cast their ballots outside party lines and favored Obama (6 percent) as their top choice over a Republican candidate. Other Democratic candidates that received Republican votes:

• 2 percent – Clinton
• 2 percent – Edwards
• 1 percent – Richardson
• 1 percent - Gravel

Almost one in five younger voters (18 percent of those aged 18-34) had the biggest crush on Obama, choosing to show their support for him by giving him a box of chocolates. More than a quarter of adults aged 35 and over (28 percent) said they would most want to present Clinton with a box of chocolates to show support.

Age was not only a dividing factor when it came to political preferences, but also with regard to chocolate preferences. While Americans across the board agreed that dark chocolate is the most preferred type of chocolate (46 percent), older Americans (55 and over) enjoyed the decadent and delicious tastes of dark chocolate the most — further supporting the notion that the American palate becomes increasingly sophisticated with age.

In fact, 53 percent of adults aged 55 or older cast their votes for dark chocolate over milk chocolate (37 percent), while 55 percent of voters aged 18-34 picked milk chocolate over dark chocolate (31 percent).

“As chocolate continues to evolve and provide consumers with more choices than ever before, from specific cacao percentages to single-origin creations, it’s clear that Americans enjoy the new options available in decadent and dark chocolates – especially older Americans,” commented Graham.

Despite party differences, Democrats, Republicans and Independents all agreed on one thing: white chocolate is the least preferred chocolate of all (6 percent respectively).

 *signifies any value of less than one-half percent

About the National Confectioners Association (NCA): Founded in 1884 in Chicago by representatives of 69 confectionery manufacturing firms, the National Confectioners Association is one of the oldest, most respected trade associations in the world. Today NCA has more than 600 members and is the major association representing the entire confectionery industry, offering education and leadership in manufacturing, technical research, public relations, retailing practices, government relations and statistical analyses. NCA fosters industry growth by advancing and promoting the interests of the confectionery industry, its customers and its consumers.

About the Survey:
This Valentine’s Day study was conducted online within the United States on behalf of the National Confectioners Association & Chocolate Manufacturers Association between Jan. 7 and Jan. 9, 2008, among 2,025 U.S. adults aged 18 and older.

Results were weighted as needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, and household income. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

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