Posted on 04/06/2011 3:47:40 PM PDT by mandaladon
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appears to be the early front-runner in the largely unformed race for the Republican nomination for president, but real estate magnate Donald Trump may be a surprise contender, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. Among Republican primary voters, Mr. Romney captured the support of 21% in a broad, nine-candidate field. Mr. Trump was tied for second with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, with 17%. House Speaker Newt Gingrich got 11%, just ahead of former Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s 10%. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, considered a strong contender by political handicappers, remains largely unknown, with just 6% support. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota had 5%, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum 3%, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour with just 1%.
Mr. Trump “may be a punch line but when he talks about the way to solve our problems, he makes a lot of sense to the average guy out there,” said Todd Mauney, a conservative Republican in Weatherford, Texas. “I don’t know if people can get over him being the butt of every joke but for me, he can be serious when it’s time to make real decisions.“
In a narrower field of five candidates, excluding Mr. Trump but including Messrs. Gingrich, Pawlenty and Barbour and Ms. Bachmann, Mr. Romney comes out with a comfortable 20-point lead, 40% to Mr. Gingrich’s second-place 20%. Mr. Pawlenty had 12% and Ms. Bachmann 11%. Mr. Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chief and chairman of the Republican Governors Association, has a powerful fund-raising network and a vast Rolodex of contacts, but he has yet to catch on with primary voers. He garnered 3% of the support of those polled.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
Count me in and the hubby too.
“If I had to choose between Mitt and the Donald...I go with the Donald.”
Tim Pawlenty and Herman Cain are much more conservative and far, far better candidates.
Even though I don’t think that Trump could win the Primaries, he is up in the polls because the issues he is raising are the issues Americans care about. His message is resonating, but IMO , not the right messenger.
Mitt can’t win either, unless it is such a GOP wave election that anyone but Obama would win.
Just like 2008 was a Dem year IMO no one could have beaten Obama.
2012 may just be an Elmer Fudd year!
*** NOBAMA 2012 ***
Pawlenty and Cain have about as much chance as Duncan Hunter, another FR “darling”.
How about we win this time and take out the Alien?
I do not want this man to get the nomination. It will be like Mccain in that it is to get the Democrat elected.
I wonder if he is doing it to knock out Palin or someone else who might have a chance.
For all of the Hucksters plentiful, almost innumerable faults, he could be counted on for one thing - nominating only pro-life justices to the Court and other lower courts. With these other two yahoos, who knows what you might get.
Both Romney and Trump strike me as the kinds of guys who could easily nominate a Souter-like Justice.
Also, solidly pro-life justices also happen to be right on many of the other issues too. You get a swishy pro-choice Justice, and you might as well say goodbye to the 2A, too.
Can you imagine the support if Palin or Bachmann had not of backed down on this issue?
Good Lord, the path to an early victory.
Think about that statement carefully. I will vote for anyone I think can beat Obams. My candidate is :
*** NOBAMA 2012 ***
He’s also against gay marriage.
personally, I’d love to hear him call 0bama after he won the election.
DT - “You were given charge of the executive of this corporation called the United States of America. You used an ill-conceived stimulus plan to restart a stagnant economy and you’ve failed miserably. You’ve instituted a costly heal care program against the wishes of the shareholders, you’ve put the bond rating of this country in jeopardy.
Barack, YOU’RE FIRED!!!!”
I would write in someone other than those two (Trump and Mitt) also. I have seen Donald trash some very good people in the past and his views on major issues that concern me are often 180 degrees away from conservative Christian views.
Trump's character is far from anything decent, and it is surprising how many freepers jump on his wagon with just one issue.
The only way we are going to win is if we nominate a non-politically correct fighter. It has to be someone not afraid to get in obama's face and expose him for the incompetent fraud that he is. I don't see an establishment candidate fitting that bill. We need a rogue candidate who is media savy and fearless. 2012 isn't a normal election and these aren't normal times. We have never had a stealth radical muslim commie in the White House before.
I’ll write a vanity second guessing my political instincts if Trump appears on the South Carolina primary ballot (it comes before the NH primary and Iowa caucuses in 2012.) Anyone can “announce” and quit months before the primaries.
LLS
We have said...someone will step up, run and win, and that just could be Donald Trump!! Whats not to like?? He is a Capitolist...a big one. He doesn’t care what the MSM sez or how much they throw out there. He has lots of money and probably owns a lot of NYC. He has made and lost fortunes, and made them back again. He is a leader, a CEO, a business man, in realestate, in casinos, in TV and media of all kinds...so whats not to like?? Besides all this, and some would say all of the preceding is bad, he loves this country and is basicly a conservative on most of the things the Tea Party stands for. I not only like him, I think he can win and will put America and American Exceptionalism back where it belongs and give China a real run for it’s money (OURS)!!
He'll never announce. When you announce for federal office, there are very specific legal restrictions that then apply. For instance, NBC would no longer be able to air "The Apprentice", so long as Trump appears in it. And, there are financial disclosure requirements that are also necessary. I don't see him complying with any of those.
My personal opinion is that this is all a big ruse designed specifically to get Apprentice ratings up. And, from what I understand, it's working.
The eastern world recognizes not only the next President of the United States... they recognize that she will be the next “Great President”. It has been a long time... they miss Reagan too.
LLS
He mentioned that he can’t announce until the show ends. Some sort of conflict.
Great points.
Many of Trumps business projects required others to have more skin in the game, lending to Trump the majority of capital for the project, profiting their leverage for him to profit from, and very often his projects are over priced, tend to run out of financial steam, have to be financially restructured where those he is indebted to get majority control over something that remains “Trump” in name only. We have no business giving him the keys to the White House.
Like Swarzenegger before him, he can, and is hitting some populist notes. Populism is no replacement for Conservatism.
Trump would be like Swarzenegger on steroids to the GOP, with his ego supplying the steroids. And we all know what a great benefit Swarzenegger was for the GOP, right?
Just smart business. Greasing the wheels and paying the protection racket.
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