Posted on 06/19/2007 6:52:38 AM PDT by Neville72
There’s change at the top in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson earning support from 28% of Likely Republican Primary Voters. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani attracts support from 27%. While Thompson’s one-point edge is statistically insignificant, it is the first time all year that anybody but Giuliani has been on top in Rasmussen Reports polling. A week ago, Thompson and Giuliani were tied at 24%.
It remains an open question as to how Thompson will hold up once he actually enters the campaign and has to compete directly with other candidates. To date, he retains the allure of the new kid in town while GOP voters already know the things they don’t like about the others. Still, Thompson’s rise to the top provides a telling measure of how the other GOP hopefuls have failed to capture the imagination of the party they hope to lead.
Once gain this week, Arizona Senator John McCain and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney are tied for a distant third. This week, both men attract 10% support. Last week, they were both at the 11% level of support. For McCain, this is a continuation of a downward trend. For Romney, it reflects a fairly steady position. Romney is doing well in selected state polls but has been unable to gain much traction and expand his support nationwide.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Kansas Senator Sam Brownback are each the top choice for 2% of the likely voters.
The combined total for five other candidates in the race is just under 3%. Those candidates are Congressman Ron Paul, Congressman Tom Tancredo, former Governor Tommy Thompson, Congressman Duncan Hunter, and former Governor Jim Gilmore. Eighteen percent (18%) say they’re not sure how they will vote.
This is the first Rasmussen Reports poll to exclude former House Speaker Newt Gingrich as a candidate. Gingrich earned 7% support in last week’s polling but has recently made statements indicating he is not likely to enter the 2008 race as candidate.
Giuliani remains the most well-liked candidate in either party. He is viewed favorably by 82% of Republicans nationwide and unfavorably by 15%. Thompson, not as well known, is the only other candidate with so few Republicans holding an unfavorable opinion of him. The actor turned Senator turned actor again is viewed favorably by 59% of Republicans and unfavorably by 14%.
Among Republicans, Romney and McCain both have lower favorables and higher unfavorables than the frontrunners. For Romney, those GOP numbers are 56% favorable and 28% unfavorable. McCain, among the nation’s best known political figures, is viewed favorably by 55% of Republicans and unfavorably by 40%.
While Giuliani is well liked, only 21% of Republicans view him as politically conservative. Twice as many, 42%, believe that Thompson is politically conservative.
Rasmussen Reports releases updated polling data on the Republican nominating contest every Tuesday. Results for the Democrats are updated on Mondays. The current survey is based upon national telephone interviews with 618 Likely Republican Primary Voters conducted June 11-14, 2007. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. The Rasmussen Reports sample includes not only Republicans, but also independents who say they are likely to vote in a Republican Primary.
In some states, independent voters are allowed to participate in Republican primaries. In others, only Republicans can participate. Among Republicans only in the current poll, it’s Thompson 29% Giuliani 24% Romney 11% and McCain 10%.
McCain’s recent decline in the polls has been tied closely to his support for the unpopular immigration reform bill. A Rasmussen Reports analysis of what happened to the McCain campaign noted that the man once considered a maverick is now the candidate most closely aligned with President Bush on two hot-button issues—the War in Iraq and immigration. That linkage is problematic when just 27% of voters nationwide say the President is doing a good or excellent job handling the situation in Iraq and only 15% give him favorable reviews on the immigration issue.
Rasmussen Reports continuously updates general election match-ups and other measures for all Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates. Also regularly updated are favorability ratings for Members of Congress, Other Political Figures, and Journalists along with public attitudes towards Congress, the War on Terror, and other topics.
Romney -- possibly, but unlikely. McCain -- no way, it doesn't help Thompson at all, and would in fact hurt him.
Thanks for the heads up! Cue the music:
"Another one bites the dust..." ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
After reading your comments just now I am not so sure....All I know is I support Fred Thompson over there and I am not attacked. I see the debate going on over there as wether to allow the discussion of amnesty even to be discussed. I admit when I saw that Ivan had blocked amnesty threads I found myself troubled.
What is sad in all of this is the more than likely probability that we Republicans and or conservatives are going to tear ourselves up over the various issues and make it that much easier for the dims to take the White House. The sad fact of political life, the dims will support their candidate no matter what, conservatives have higher principles often at great cost to the cause.
I know not of the people that you speak, if they are happy over there and you are happy over here, then so be it. I love both sites and hope that I will continue to be allowed to post on both.
schadenfreude I do find it amusing that the crybabies that opus’d out of FR are causing the same stir at MadIvan’s house.
Yeah, I do to, and from what I was reading last night in the WA chat room they may not be long for that forum either.
Another mass descent through the seven levels of internet forum purgatory. It's kinda like a distillation process for internet sociopaths. The further down you go, the more whacked-out you are.
Yup, Americans love above all else their right of free speech. Anyone who would seek to take away that privilege should be quickly dispatched to the nether world.
And with that goes freedom of association. Such as FR not wanting to associate with certain posters any longer (not you).
That is correct, and while I may not agree with all that I may see in any forum that I visit I still must respect the wishes of the owners of that forum and abide by their rules.
Yes....I am very glad to be back on FR especially without them.
I like this forum....I know dozens of good folks here personally.
I will get roasted in the LP biker bar but so be it.
RUN, FRED, RUN!!
If it keeps certain people from posting here we should be glad bandwidth is being wasted there.
wow...I actually find myself agreeing with egomaniac Stinky over his distaste for the new policy...lol
not that I care.....bunch of pc poseurs that personify EVERYTHING wrong with modern GOP politically correct thought.
I can’t stand folks like them....
I know, it’s really a different world when you find yourself cheering for Stinky the Border Hardliner. lol.
But I have no doubt that if he were still here he’d be up to his old tricks. It’s in comparison to his present company that he stands out.
Some “certain people” still post here anyway.
This is a great forum indeed.
Hi Axel, hope all is well. Out of morbid curiosity, I've lurked over there a bit (after several drinks). The problem there is not that Fred supporters are attacked, it is the five or so obnoxious Rudy supporters who pollute the forum with retarded illogical arguments against Fred over and over and over and over. My personal favorite is the one dude who always bitches that he's not able to block the Thompson category from his view and then proceeds to post obsessively on those threads. I honestly think the guy is sexually attracted to Rudy.
Anyhow, nice to see you around. Two weeks until Big Brother!
They're jackasses too.
C'mon, Sinkspur is good people. His politics on some issues might be dopey, but I got to know the guy when he was on FR, and I can assure you that he's got a heart of gold.
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