Posted on 06/19/2007 6:52:38 AM PDT by Neville72
Theres 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 Thompsons 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 dont like about the others. Still, Thompsons 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 theyre 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 weeks 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 nations 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, its Thompson 29% Giuliani 24% Romney 11% and McCain 10%.
McCains 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 issuesthe 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.
Come next winter it is a two-way race between Thompson and Romney.
Just my $.02
Already posted, but I suppose we could be like the Rudybots and post it every 10 minutes.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1852640/posts
Suicide alert at WA
Cool. I want to see his “vs Hillary” stats.
That’s the biggest priority - keep that Marxist Witch out of power.
I’d really like to see a conservative FIGHTER on our side, though. NO MORE “NEW TONE”.
But but but Rudie is the only one who can beat Hillaree. Ha ha ha ha. :-)
I have always maintained America will not have to New Yorkers run for President. I have also maintained that America will not vote for a Bush or Clinton again.
Hopefully, I’ll be correct on both.
It just a waste of bandwidth now. They should abort.
I agree, except Rudy is going to hang around. The moderates have to have someone to support. I don't think the GOP can go wrong with either Thompson or Romney, but Thompson clearly has the momentum. This makes all the people crying about Thompson entering too late look really silly. It is possible it is too early.
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Bump.
Not at all.
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Good stuff!
Wait.... am I the first to say,
“Is Fred even running????” ;^)
Yes. The rest of us are just "lazy" like Fred.
The Dems are terrified of Fred. Just do a google search for "margaret thatcher" + "fred thompson" to see how the media is PURPOSEFULLY IGNORING that story. Imagine if Obama X was in a foreign country -- it would be splashed all over the tv, newspapers, etc., with newsscum talking non-stop about his "stately demeanor" or calling him a "budding statesman." When Fred goes to the U.K. to meet the greatest leader the country has had since WWII, all you get is crickets.
You should be very afraid, MSM, because you clowns can't stop Fred and the Fredheads.
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