Posted on 07/24/2011 10:08:03 AM PDT by Signalman
If Gov. Rick Perry opts to run for president, a passel of polls released this week indicates that he would enter the race for the GOP nomination as a top-tier candidate.
Four national polls had Perry running second to fourth among Republicans surveyed in July, surpassing many established — and long-announced — candidates, including Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.
"He's top three if he runs," said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist. "I think it's (Mitt) Romney and (Michele) Bachmann and Perry. The others, so far, have not been able to generate any real steam. That could change, but I doubt it."
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and unsuccessful candidate for the GOP nomination in 2008, is the national front-runner but has been unable to pull away from the pack. The four polls showed mixed results for Romney, with several indicating that he's in a tight race and others showing him solidly ahead.
Bachmann, a U.S. House member from Minnesota and a tea party movement favorite, has stormed into second place in most polls and is considered the front-runner in Iowa, which opens the primary season in 6½ months. Romney is not actively campaigning in Iowa.
Everybody else in the Republican field failed to generate double-digit support in the four polls. The most surprising bottom dweller is Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor whose campaign kicked off with great fanfare but whose support is hovering in the 2 percent range, the polls showed.
Until a solid front-runner emerges, the low polling numbers will encourage additional candidates, such as Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani, to consider entering the fray.
But poll support implies only that a candidate has enough backing to be viable. Fund-raising ability, campaign organization and support from activists — all factors that Perry has been weighing in recent weeks — are vitally important to a presidential campaign.
Among the poll results:
• Perry was only three points behind Romney, 17 to 14 percent, in support from 323 registered GOP voters in a Fox News poll. Bachmann was third with 10 percent. President Barack Obama topped all Republicans in head-to-head matchups, with Romney behind Obama by six points (47 to 41 percent) and Perry and Pawlenty down 10 points (both 47 to 37 percent), the poll showed.
• A CNN poll of 455 Republicans and independents who lean toward the GOP showed the tightest race, with Perry only two points behind Romney, 16 to 14 percent, with potential candidates Giuliani and Palin close behind at 13 percent.
• Romney had a solid lead with support from 30 percent of GOP primary voters in an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll. Bachmann followed with 16 percent, and Perry was third with support from 11 percent of those polled.
• Perry came in fourth with support from 8 percent of registered Republican voters surveyed by the Washington Post and ABC News. Romney had 28 percent, followed by Palin with 16 percent and Bachmann with 13 percent.
• Although it didn't ask voters which candidate they preferred, a Gallup poll found that Perry and Giuliani generated the most positive enthusiasm among GOP voters nationwide. However, only 55 percent of those surveyed recognized the Texas governor's name, a relatively low number in a crowded field.
| Poll | Date | Romney | Bachmann | Palin | Perry | Giuliani | Paul | Cain | Gingrich | Pawlenty | Santorum | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RCP Average | 7/5 - 7/20 | 22.3 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.3 | 11.0 | 7.8 | 6.5 | 5.2 | 2.8 | 2.0 | Romney +8.8 |
| CNN/Opinion Research | 7/18 - 7/20 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Romney +2 |
| FOX News | 7/17 - 7/19 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Romney +3 |
| ABC News/Wash Post | 7/14 - 7/17 | 26 | 13 | 16 | 8 | -- | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Romney +10 |
| NBC/WSJ | 7/14 - 7/17 | 30 | 16 | -- | 11 | -- | 9 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 3 | Romney +14 |
| PPP (D) | 7/15 - 7/17 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 11 | -- | 9 | 10 | 6 | 5 | -- | Romney +4 |
| Quinnipiac | 7/5 - 7/11 | 25 | 14 | 12 | 10 | -- | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | Romney +11 |
It’s either a State or Federal issue. Which would you prefer to have, a stronger Federal government or a one that gives the states more power? States rights is much closer to home and what the local people prefer rather than some dictatoral group in DC. JMO, apparently yours differs but is your right.
Duh, because he was a Democrat at the time. Reagan once was a Democrats and voted for FDR in 1932.
And, don't forget he has attended -- gasp -- Bilderberg meetings!
GWB was fine on taxes, social issues and national defense. There is no evidence Perry believes in compassionate conservatism.
In contrast, Perry (a career politician) supported liberal Demonrat Al Gore in 1988, long after the Demon Party had turned socialist. He continued to support Leftist candidates 2 decades later, after turning nominal Republican.
So please spare us this crap about Rick Perry being another Reagan. I knew Ronald Reagan. Rick Perry is no Ronald Reagan. He is more like another Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Oh I remember. A good friend of mine works for his office and was barraged with conspiracy nut calls when Perry was in Constantinople.
Perry SAID homosexual marriage in New York was FINE with him,that it's THEIR business.FINE FINE FINE, get it?
Not,”I so respect the tenth amendment that even though homosexual marriage is wrong,there is nothing to be done if a state wants to pass statutes that are wrong.”
If you read the two and you possess at least one brain cell capable of reading comprehension one of the above agrees with New York's homosexual agenda and one does not.
This is important!
If Perry was for Gore, that means Ronald Reagan had absolutely no affect on Perry.
So when he starts throwing Reagan`s name around on the campaign trail?? Be suspicious!
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