Posted on 10/05/2011 6:36:07 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
This is the fourth national poll in the past week to show him surging but the very first to have him in the lead. Amazing.
The poll shows Cain, who stood at just five percent support two weeks ago, now holding 17 percent support among Republican primary voters. That puts the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO into a tie with Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, whose support has essentially held steady over the past two weeks.
Perry, meanwhile, has dropped from 23 percent support to just 12 percent support over the past two weeks, a sign that the Texas governor’s shaky debate performances – in which he has alienated portions of both the Republican base and the party establishment – have taken their toll…
The CBS News poll shows Cain as the top choice among self-described conservatives, with 21 percent support. (Two weeks ago, he polled at just six percent with this group.) Romney polls in second among conservatives with 15 percent support, followed by Perry at 13 percent. Cain is also the top choice of Republican primary voters who support the Tea Party, polling at 24 percent to Romney’s 17 percent, Gingrich’s 13 percent and Perry’s 12 percent…
There is not a groundswell for the most prominent Republican still openly considering a run, 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, to jump in: Three in four Republican primary voters said they would not like to see her enter the race. Just 23 percent said they wanted to see a Palin candidacy.
Just 10 percent of Republican primary voters say they agree with Perry that children of illegals should be eligible for in-state tuition. Serious question: Has any Republican gone on to win the nomination by following Perry’s path here, jumping in late to great white-knight acclaim and then dropping precipitously in the polls after a series of disappointing early stumbles? Has anyone recovered from that dynamic or is the end result always a Fred-Thompson-esque sputter? I don’t think Team Perry would mind the new numbers if it were a simple matter of Perry falling back in the pack with Romney stuck at 20-25 percent, but they must be a bit worried that some conservatives are switching to Cain instead of reverting to the “don’t know” column. It’s easy to win people back who are undecided but it’ll take work to convince them after they’ve switched allegiances. Especially since, unlike Perry, Cain seems to be getting better as a candidate.
As for Romney, Cain has two big problems. The first is that 32 percent of those polled by CBS say Romney is most likely to beat Obama compared to just eight percent who say the same of Cain. (16 percent say Perry.) The second is, well, this:
With Governor Chris Christie confirming today that he won’t seek the presidency, some big-name donors are finally ready to commit themselves to Mitt Romney.
“A lot of us who normally would have been in this presidential race a long time ago, have been waiting for Christie to make a decision,” said Georgette Mosbacher, a Republican uber-fund-raiser and finance co-chair of the Republican National Committee who was among a group of Republican bundlers hoping to convince Christie to enter the race. “I think tomorrow, we’ll be contacting one another and probably put something together with Romney.”
“I’m going to go with Mitt Romney,” said John Catsimatidis, another donor who had been intrigued with Christie, in a brief phone interview this afternoon…
Mosbacher said the big bundlers in her circle “do not consider a Perry factor.”
Ken Lagone, the billionaire who founded Home Depot and was pushing Christie hard to jump in, also said today that he’ll back Romney. Big question: Given the dynamics of the race, who should Perry attack now — Romney or Cain? He can’t afford to have Cain hang around the top tier or else the conservative vote will split, but if he attacks the most popular underdog in the race, he risks an even greater backlash. Ironically, I think his best bet now is to stay focused on Romney but push an electability argument of his own: Namely, that Cain simply doesn’t have the resources to compete with Romney over the long haul, so if you want to stop Mitt, there’s only one game in town. Sad that Perry might be reduced to selling himself asessentially the “Not Romney” in the race, but if it works, oh well.
In the meantime, I heard on the radio that a significant Amount of Wall Street was ready to be spent in support of Chris Christie.
Now that Gov. Christie announced that he isn’t running, that money is likely to go to Romney.
RINOs don’t want Perry or Palin. Cain would make a great cabinet member but not a president.
He should just drop out.
RE: Cain would make a great cabinet member but not a president
Interesting, I’d like to understand your reasons for saying that.
As for the field...last one standing..
Cripes, I meant Perry. (Maybe wishful thinking on my part..)
Cain is a good man but it’s a sign of how desperately sad the conservative movement has become that it is flocking to someone with no background, no money, no organization and no chance of winning.
Explain: No background
Explain: No organization
Money and chance of winning is what campaigning is all about.
With good polling like this, the money will start rolling in. Also, name recognition will grow. With money and name recognition, chance of winning increases.
The next 2 debates are going to be very interesting...
I see. So we flock to the GOP/media choice who is able to come up with the most money to buy the nomination and the office. Nominate Cain and put the money and more importantly the votes behind him. Also, I would like to understand your concept of “no background”. He has a long and varied background in managing people, organizations and money. Little political background you say. Well, where in the hell has electing privileged, specially selected and groomed career politicians with executive hair and big bucks brought us? Cain can do it and Cain is the best choice.
Cain is a wonderful fellow but not ready to be Prez. In the cabinet though.
RE: Cain is a wonderful fellow but not ready to be Prez
I’ve been reading similar comments here at FR in almost every thread. What no one bothers to explain is WHY he isn’t ready to be President.
What’s presidential ready? America needs a businessman with a huge set to get us out of this crisis. The only one I see with those qualifications is Cain. The others may talk big now, but the minute they drink from the WH water fountain, they’ll be caving and playing footsie just like the rest there.
hattie’s from texas.
so, cain does not qualify!
only texans.
All of this indicates that the GOP has yet to find a satisfactory candidate to clean out the White Houes.
What are Cain qualifications to be elected President? He has no record to judge him and a CEO of a pizza company is not a record for someone running for President. All what he is doing is giving people red meat rhetoric and tough talk. Some people think that red meat and tough talk are the most important qualifications for a President but the vast majority of voters do not think so.
>>Cain is a good man but it’s a sign of how desperately sad the conservative movement has become that it is flocking to someone with no background, no money, no organization and no chance of winning.<<
Desperately sad? Is your reading of the political mood of the country really that weak? I’ve followed politics for over 40 years, and right now, today, the conservative movement, as you put it, is stronger than any time in that last 40 years.
There is a strong chance that this “sad” movement is going to result in an administration that is finally dedicated to bringing the federal government under control. Even Reagan, who ran on a platform of doing just that, had little success in doing so because the conservative movement of the time had nowhere near the strength and influence it does today.
Mitt Romney is stuck at less than 30% and will remain there, solely because of the “sad” conservatives of which you speak. Rick Perry has learned the hard way that he needs to tread carefully amongst those “sad” conservatives or he will be denied the nomination that was, for a short time, his to lose.
We are looking for someone who means what he says (hence, Romney’s disqualification) and says what needs saying. We really don’t care if it’s Cain, Perry, Ryan, Daniels, Christie, or even Bachmann or Palin. One of the above is likely going to be President in January 2013, and is also likely to have the backing of a Republican House and Senate. Any one of the above will be likely to begin the job of cleaning house, and putting the federal government back in the constitutional box the Founders designed.
“Desperately sad” my ass...
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