Posted on 06/18/2007 12:50:51 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani, John McCain (news, bio, voting record) and Mitt Romney dominate the 10-man field for the Republican presidential nomination, with Fred Thompson threatening to roil an unsettled race.
Rare circumstances serve as the backdrop.
The sitting Republican president and party standard-bearer, George W. Bush, has abysmal job-performance ratings. Vice President Dick Cheney doesn't want the job and there's no natural heir, a significant departure for a party that historically has nominated the next in line.
The result is one of the most fluid GOP races in half a century.
Giuliani, a former New York mayor; McCain, an Arizona senator; and Romney, an ex-governor of Massachusetts, are the strongest contenders. They lead the field in organization, endorsements and money.
But Thompson, the former Tennessee senator and "Law & Order" actor, casts an enormous shadow and placed a close third behind Giuliani and McCain in a recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll. All but certain to enter the race, he's become a favorite of conservatives who are underwhelmed with the current field.
Underdog candidates former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record) and five other long-shots are looking to catch fire in certain states.
The Iraq war, immigration, terrorism and abortion are the hottest issues.
To win, a candidate must collect a majority of delegates 1,255 to be exact. That number, like the date of each state's contest and the delegate allotments, is in flux. Voting begins in January.
State | Rank | Source | Date |
---|---|---|---|
All | 2nd [Guiliani] 2nd [Guiliani] 2nd [Guiliani] |
USA Today/Gallup Harris NBC/WSJ |
6/19 6/14 6/13 |
CA | 2nd (tie) [Guiliani, McCain] | Survey USA | 6/4 |
FL | 2nd [Guiliani] 1st |
Insider Advanatge Datmar |
6/11 5/23 |
IA | 2nd [Romney] | Public Policy Polling | 6/4 |
NC | 1st | Public Policy Polling | 6/7 |
NH | 4th [Romney, Guiliani, McCain] 4th [Romney, Guiliani, McCain] 4th [Romney, Guiliani, McCain] |
University of New Hampshire Survey Center Mason Dixon Franklin Pierce College |
6/12 6/8 6/6 |
SC | 1st 1st |
Mason Dixon Public Policy Polling |
6/17 6/4 |
WA | 3rd [Guiliani, McCain] | Survey USA | 5/3 |
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