Posted on 03/03/2007 3:55:15 PM PST by PhiKapMom
Sat Mar 3, 3:14 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has taken a wide lead over his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination but many voters remain unaware of his stand on key issues, a new poll showed Saturday.
Giuliani is favored by an impressive 59 percent of Republican voters over his main rival, Senator John McCain (news, bio, voting record), who trails with 34 percent support, according to the latest Newsweek poll.
Giuliani has surged ahead since a January 25 Newsweek poll, when he had a narrow lead of four points over McCain that was deemed a statistical tie.
When pitted against another Republican candidate, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, 70 percent of Republican voters say they would choose Giuliani compared to 20 percent for Romney.
In more good news for Giuliani, who as New York's mayor won praise for his response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, the poll showed 82 percent of registered Republicans say a candidate's marital history was not an important consideration for the 2008 presidential elections.
Giuliani has been married three times amid heavy scrutiny from the US media.
But 75 percent of Republican voters, and 74 percent of those who call themselves social conservatives, say the former mayor's marital history does not influence their decision whether to support him for the presidential nomination.
Most Republican voters, however, remain unfamiliar with Giuliani's more moderate positions on key social issues such as abortion, gun control and same-sex marriage.
Only 34 percent of Republican voters were aware Giuliani had a pro-choice stance on abortion rights -- a position opposed by the conservative activists that dominate the party.
Just 17 percent polled knew that Giuliani backed gun control measures, which are strongly opposed by the party and only 16 percent were aware that Giuliani opposes a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
The poll also showed Giuliani at a virtual tie when pitted against possible Democratic Party contenders including Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record).
In a match-up with Clinton, Giuliani beats the former First Lady 47-to-46 percent, a statistical tie with a four-point margin of error. And in a choice between Giuliani and former Democratic Senator John Edwards, Giuliani garners 47 percent compared to 45 percent for Edwards, also a virtual tie.
Against Senator Barack Obama, Giuliani leads with 48 percent to 43 percent for Obama.
The poll, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, was based on interviews with 1,202 adults between February 28 and March 1.
FYI!
Hmmm wonder who the 34% are?
We had a popular Conservative as POTUSA.
Next was a one term moderate.
Next was a two term traitor, who some people think was conservative.
Next was a two term moderate that squeaked by because the democrats nominees were very bad.
Now some people want a far left winger as the Republican nominee that most real democrats can beat because they can run to the right of IT.
Do they do any polls on the fact that McCain's wife had a stroke and he rarely if ever goes home to Arizona to be with his family?
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1793173/posts?page=100
"One-third of voters take issue with a presidential candidate who supports gun control or has been married three times like Rudy Giuliani, a new Time magazine poll shows.......30 percent couldn't back a candidate who favors gun control, while another 35 percent have trouble with someone with three marriages. That includes 48 percent of "born-again" white Christians. But the survey also shows 56 percent don't know Giuliani's marital history, 68 percent don't know his stand on gun control (he's been saying it's a state matter), and nearly 80 percent don't accurately know where he is on abortion rights (he favors it)."
This cracked me up! Seems CR's were doing a whisper campaign against Rudy but check out what the blog owner has to say after the NY Post article!
New York Post: RUDY DRAGGED DOWN
Rudy Giuliani’s liberal stance on abortion, guns and gays wasn’t his biggest problem yesterday as he addressed a conference of conservative activists - it was his having dressed in drag.
A whisper campaign targeting the front-running GOP White House contender’s cross-dressing stunts at gala political dinners in New York and on “Saturday Night Live” was the hot topic among right-leaning activists.
“A lot of people are talking about it. It’s not respectable. They use it as a way to highlight all of his other shortcomings,” Las Vegas conservative Bruce Feher told The Post.
Big deal.
Dressing in drag as a comedic stunt is commonplace.
Some of these young immature conservatives at CPAC should NOT be so ANAL and SELF-RIGHTEOUS.
Now, did Flap just make an Ann Coulter mal-speak?
http://flapsblog.com/?p=4517
(((((PING))))) "HA!"
I would doubt that!
It's more than enough, if morons would quit bashing our own candidates... start taking aim at the other side for awhile.
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There is no such thing as an interesting poll a year-and-a-half before the vote.
You're just pissed because you don't have a viable candidate in this race. There's nothing like a sore loser. Americans love a winner and they sure don't like losers.
Yes on his fixtation on allowing invaders open borders!
I like my amnesty plan!
Please call them INVADERS and don't compare them to people who are legal aliens!
IF you aid and abet CRIMINALS, you are a criminal!
President Bush has been great on most things except for our border.
He has been great on the war on terrorists.
But on the border he is a gross failure.
He acted fast and correct on the 3,000+ people murdered at the world trade center.
He ignores the many rapes, murders and robberies which might be larger than the murders and money loss at the world trade center.
More Americans are abducted on the border of Mexico than in Iraq!
Start building the fence.
It should be made a felony for Criminals who overstay their visas and Invaders.
I believe we should give amnesty to these poor CRIMINALS or INVADERS.
This should be a 2 week amnesty to get the heck out of our Country.
The ones who ignore this amnesty should be buried in a tent city jail and fined $10,000 or buried elsewhere.
All aiders and abettors of these CRIMINALS or INVADERS should get 1 year in a tent city jail and a $10,000 fine for each CRIMINAL aided.
Those in government should be the first ones charged.
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I will vote for DUNCAN HUNTER for POTUSA in 2008.
Rudy is sure cleaning up and his excellent showing at conservative-only polls this weekend show that he has the ability to draw voters from a wide spectrum. That is what is needed in this coming election. I recall that Bush barely won in both of his elections and, considering the quality of his opponents, this shows that if the dems were to run a really appealing candidate the upcoming race will be very tough.
I consider bringing up negative things about a candidate, any candidate, to be push polling.
But then if they actually cared about the troops, the President, our allies, or national security they wouldn't be showing their ugly side all the time.
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