Quiz Lets You Know If You Are Red or Blue.....or Green

The selection of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan as Republican candidate Mitt Romney's running mate has put the presidential race back on the front burner in around the country.

And based on the conversations we're seeing on Patch, there are a wide variety of issues that concern readers in Benicia and elsewhere when it comes to who will end up in the White House.

But do you really know which presidential candidate best matches your stance on those 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.

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. Surprisingly, Californians' views matched Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 48 percent, followed by Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson's positions 47 percent of the time, and GOP candidate Ron Paul at 35 percent.

And what about 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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If there’s something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor JB Davis at 707-628-0051 or email him at benicia@patch.com.