A study examined the source of important voter perceptions during the 1984 presidential election and their impact on the choice between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale--specifically perceptions involving the effects of either a Reagan or a Mondale victory on the American economy. The origins of these economic perceptions were sought in communication and political party variables, demographic characteristics, and more general knowledge and beliefs about the economy, which were expected to affect, in turn, candidate preference. First the analysis was conducted for the entire sample; then, given the common assertion that communication variables would be more important in the absence of strong party identification, the analysis was repeated separately for respondents who identified with a political party and for those who identified weakly or not at all. Subjects, 324 randomly selected residents of a southeastern metropolitan area, were asked by telephone which candidate they would vote for if the election were held that day, and, if they expressed a preference, how sure they were about their choice. Findings indicated the continued importance of political party identification--it came close to overwhelming the other variables in the model. As expected, party identification strongly predicted candidate choice, but it also predicted perceptions of economic trends, measured here as economic pessimism. All analyses appeared to provide evidence in favor of an indirect role of the media in influencing candidate preference. (References, figures, and tables of data are included.) (NKA)