Politics & Government

Online Tool Matches Voters with Ideal Presidential Candidate

This online, free quiz takes an in-depth look at your stance on a range of issues, then compares them to candidates' responses. Why not give it a try?

The selection of as Republican candidate Mitt Romney's running mate and the upcoming national conventions have put the presidential race back on the front burner.

But do you really know which presidential candidate's positions best match your own stance on the issues? 

A new website launched earlier this year to help voters match up with their ideal candidate, and it's quickly gaining popularity through social media channels. In fact, according to iSideWith.com's homepage, more than a million people have taken the free quiz to determine their ideal candidate since it launched in March.

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The quiz covers everything from social issues to foreign policy and answers can be fine tuned: You can choose general or more detailed responses, and a scale allows you to set the level of importance for each issue. Your responses are then analyzed to determine your ideal candidate, complete with a breakdown of your response matches.

Among the people who took the quiz in California, their positions matched President Barack Obama's 55 percent of the time — more than any other candidate. Californians' views matched Green Party candidate Jill Stein's 48 percent of the time, followed by Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson's positions 47 percent of the time, GOP candidate Ron Paul's at 35 percent and 

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And what about GOP front-runner Romney? Just 32 percent of Californians who took the quiz have the same views as he does on the key issues.

Seems to be a pretty handy tool, but does it work? You tell us. Take the free quiz on iSideWith.com and let us know what you think. Is the candidate it matched with you the candidate you plan to vote for?

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