Posted on 07/03/2007 12:03:04 PM PDT by Neville72
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
After weeks of turmoil and change, the race for the Republican Presidential nomination has stabilized.
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson remains on top in Rasmussen Reports national polling with 27% support. Thats unchanged from a week ago. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is three points behind at 24%.
Thompson has a 16-point advantage over Giuliani among conservatives while Giuliani holds an even larger edge among moderate voters. However, in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination, there are always more conservative voters than moderates.
A separate survey found that Thompson is currently viewed as the most conservative of all GOP candidates. Giuliani remains the best liked candidate. Seventy-four percent (74%) of Republicans now have a favorable opinion of Americas Mayor. Thompsons numbers among the GOP faithful have been moving in the opposite direction. Sixty-four percent (64%) of GOP voters have a favorable opinion of the actor while just 12% have an unfavorable view.
This weeks national GOP poll also finds former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with a one-point edge over Arizona Senator John McCain for the fourth time in six weeks. Romney and McCain were tied during the other two weeks. Now, the numbers are 13% for Romney and 12% for McCain.
Romney is viewed favorably by 58% of Republican voters while 30% have a less flattering opinion. McCain is viewed favorably by 55% and unfavorably by 40% of Republicans.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is atop the second tier at 3%. Six other candidates--Senator Sam Brownback, Congressman Ron Paul, Congressman Tom Tancredo, former Governor Tommy Thompson, Congressman Duncan Hunter, and former Governor Jim Gilmoresplit 4% of the vote. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure.
The current survey is based upon national telephone interviews with 624 Likely Republican Primary Voters conducted June 25-28, 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.
Romney has not been able to gain traction in national polling, but he is on top in New Hampshire. The first Rasmussen Reports poll in that state finds the former Massachusetts Governor with a nine-point lead in his neighboring state.
McCains campaign is in serious trouble. The man once considered the dominant frontrunner had struggled for months. Over the past six weeks, his fervent support for the unpopular immigration reform bill may have been the final straw that doomed his campaign. His poll numbers are now closer to Huckabee and Brownback rather than Thompson and Giuliani. Media reports say the Arizona Senator is running very low on cash and has dramatically reduced his campaign staff. Last week, the Senator himself had to deny reports that hed be out of the race by September.
While the Senate immigration bill hurt McCain and drove President Bushs Job Approval to new lows, the number of people identifying themselves as Republicans increased last month. Thats the first monthly increase in Republican identification this year. Democrats continue to be trusted more than Republicans on most key issues, but the GOP has regained parity on national security. Among unaffiliated voters, Republicans are preferred on both national security and immigration.
Senator Hillary Clinton is the frontrunner for the Democratic Presidential nomination. She leads both the national and New Hampshire polls.
Rasmussen Reports releases updated polling data on the Republican nominating contest every Tuesday. Results for the Democrats are updated on Mondays.
Go Fred go!
Ouch, the bottom 6 sharing 4% of the overall support...
If there were one more added to their number, the media would be referring to them as the "7 Dwarfs". Maybe McCain will turn out to be #7?
If Giuliani happens to win the nomination, I don’t have a clue what I’ll do in the general election. I cannot vote for a democrat and I cannot vote for Giuliani.
For the first time since I’ve been old enough to vote I might have to leave that space blank.
So, go Fred go!
I bet he’d be “Grumpy”
Well, we know who Dopey would be (Ron Paul)
You wouldn't believe the comments I have gotten.
Nice to see McCainiac reaping his rewards.
Good or bad? Share some!
Stablizing with Fred at #1!
please give me a break.
Giuliani is not an ideal candidate, but at least he is not going to cut and run.
At the end of the day you have to support him just to keep Hillary/Obama/Edwards out.
Think it over.
Statistical noise. Nothing significant about the changes in those numbers.
We have six months and Fred's going in the right direction, I'm upbeat about this, now.
You might, I don't.
I will not vote for Rudy under any circumstances.
Ultimately, I have to answer to a higher power than the President of the United States.
MAY HAVE BEEN???? Understatement of the day
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.