Posted on 09/02/2005 2:42:08 AM PDT by iowamark
DES MOINES — U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle has an early lead over Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats in the race to capture the Republican nomination for governor, according to a poll released Wednesday.
Among 400 Iowa Republican voters surveyed by Davenport-based Victory Enterprises, 24.75 percent said they would "definitely" support Nussle and another 26 percent said they "probably" would vote for the congressman from Manchester in the June 2006 GOP primary.
Vander Plaats received definite support from 10.75 percent and probable support from another 12.25 percent. The poll found that 25 percent were undecided while 1.25 percent refused to answer.
Victory Enterprises is a public relations and political consulting firm headed by former Republican Party of Iowa chairman Steve Grubbs. The statewide survey was conducted Aug. 8-10 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.
Vander Plaats announced his candidacy in January and ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination in 2002.
But Nussle, who has represented large portions of Eastern Iowa in Congress since 1991, was better-known among those polled.
According to the survey, 85.8 percent of Republicans polled had heard of Nussle and 69.39 percent of those voters had a favorable opinion of the congressman.
Another 20 percent had no opinion.
Vander Plaats' name was recognized by 69.25 percent of those surveyed. Although 50.5 percent of those voters said they had a favorable opinion of Vander Plaats, another 38 percent said they had not formed an opinion of the candidate.
Dennis Goldford, a political science professor at Drake University, said the poll results aren't surprising.
"Generally, it's good news for Nussle," Goldford said. "It's not awful news for Vander Plaats. It shows he's behind but within shouting distance."
Both campaigns looked for bright spots. Nussle's campaign released a memo touting the numbers while simultaneously downplaying their importance nine months before the primary.
My gut tells me that guy is Nussle. He' proven he can win elections in areas with lots of Democrats.
What say the rest of you?
Vander Plaats is the only guy who can beat the RATS.
State your case. Convince me.
Liberals take a voting record, contort it to what they want and turn it into a giant fear tag and hang it around our necks. Nussle has a record. The problem is his record is that of a bigger spender than the RATS.
This brings us to another point. Republicans have been winning elections for thirty years by portraying Dems as tax-and-spend liberals who cannot be trusted with the pursestrings of the country. Nussle has voted for spending bills that dwarf anything the RATS could even dream of. If we put Nussle up there, we surrender a winning issue because the RATS will look like pillars of fiscal sanity compared to Nussle.
Bob's record is that of a turnaround CEO, a teacher, a principal and a leader. Bob has had to meet a payroll. He is willing to make tough decisions and stick to them in the face of opposition. He is a dynamic speaker and a great debater. The RATS have nothing to hang him on.
Ping
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