Posted on 08/26/2012 3:00:52 PM PDT by rhema
Support for Republican Todd Akin’s decision to stay in the Missouri Senate race has cratered and so has his favorability. Those findings come from two new polls conducted after Akin created a firestorm with his comment about “legitimate rape.”
Republicans, by a 47 percent to 37 percent margin, think he should drop out of the Senate contest against Democrat Claire McCaskill, and self-described Akin supporters believe the same by 50 percent to 34 percent, according to a Mason-Dixon survey. Only Democrats, sensing he’s likely to lose, want him to remain a candidate, 47 percent to 37 percent.
And in a poll for conservative groups, only 24 percent of Missouri voters looked favorably on Akin and 54 percent said they regard him unfavorably.
Before his rape comment two weeks ago, Akin had a solid lead over McCaskill. Republicans counted Missouri as a likely victory that would help them take control of the Senate. Now their chances look shaky.
While Romney did well in the poll for conservative organizations, leading President Obama in Missouri by 54 percent to 41 percent, Akin trailed McCaskill, 44 percent to 36 percent. A few weeks ago, he led by five percentage points. He was ahead by 11 percentage points among independents but now is 17 points behind. Independents, by 57 percent to 25 percent, want him to drop out.
Akin, however, has vowed to stay in the race. His freefall in the two polls will make that decision more difficult to defend.
re: Did it ever occur to you that the party regulars don’t want him to resign because among other things there is no replacement available that could mount a challenge.
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What? Brunner and Steelman could not be replacements and gear up their campaign almost immediately? Especially with millions of dollars coming in from across the country?
This “opinion poll” says, essentially, nothing.
What good is it to ask Republican voters in Missouri “whether or not they have a favorable opinion of” Todd Akin, or whether they think “he should drop out” of the race?
Would not a more pertinent question to Republicans be, “are you going to VOTE for Mr. Akin in November, or, vote for Ms. McCaskill?”
I looked for -those- numbers, and don’t see them anywhere above.
There are MANY people right here on FreeRepublic who don’t care much for Mitt Romney at all, but who WILL vote for him regardless, come November, because the option of not doing so will produce results that are considerably worse.
I sense that when it comes down to the brass tacks, most Missouri Republicans are in fact going to vote for Mr. Akin. And I wouldn’t be surprised if a fair number of independents do, as well.
It’s just too early to tell right now.
It will take at least two more polling cycles of “likely voters” before we see whether or not Mr. Akin stands a chance of recovering.
My advice to him would be to stop trying to “explain away” his faux pas, and attack McCaskill from every other direction.
I don’t believe this contest is over yet, not by a longshot.
How many right here on FreeRepublic were hollering and screaming that a Romney nomination would mean a certain loss to Obama in November?
Where are those people now?
at the cost of your Congressional seat??? The political landscape is littered with those who have done that and failed and wished they never had tried.
Of course, Liberals like Fred Barnes and the Weakly Standard are going to go after pro-life conservatives.
Real conservatives do not pay any attention to the Liberal PhonyCon rantings of Barnes or the Weakly
And, it is so obvious now that the attacks are Akin are about his pro-life conservative stance, and not about the comment.
Its time for the Liberal GOP members to leave Akin alone..or go Democrat
Akin is a good guy, and a good conservative according to many people that I know who live in his district. But he’s never been a big player in Missouri politics from all that I can tell from my perch about 3 miles west of the Missouri River. I don’t live in Missouri, but I can see it from here and Akin owes his nomination to McCaskill’s ad campaign and cross over vote as near as I can tell.
what percent of the voting public are “real Conservatives”
Jim Talent was quite the “Real Conservative” and had his ass whipped by McCaskill.
This just in as breaking news. 50% of those running for a Senate seat lose. But the prize is worth the effort.
I agree. It’s insane. The reaction by the Party has been infinitely worse than the gaffe itself. This could have been remedied easily by a clarification and simple, sincere apology for the misunderstanding.
If you’re a McCain or Bush, you can run as poor a campaign as you like and pin the loss on the third party candidate or your VP pick. If you’re a conservative—forget it. No mistakes permitted. And you’ll be the scapegoat for losses in other, unrelated campaigns.
“Winning isn’t everything, its the only thing.”
-Vince Lombardi
Where are those people now?
Some have said those same people are the ones pushing for Akin to stay in so that many will be turned off by the GOP and stay home. It's their way of manipulating the results to come out exactly as they predicted. Or in short: teaching the GOPe a lesson by allowing Obama win another term. That's where those people are now.
You know, Doug, Disneyland, that place south of you about 12 miles.
A subtle point here, but one that bears heavily on the outcome. Of course Republicans will vote for Akin over McCaskill, that's not an issues. But, Independents will not and that is an obstacle that cannot be scaled by Mr. Akin. This race is not about Conservatives, it is about Independents.
Pick one — without perturbing the other’s supporters.
Yup, for people who consider themselves "conservatives" they have a very liberal way of looking at how elections work.
I remember the good ole days when results were the only thing that mattered. Now, all that matters is the intention.
This country is gone.
That's right. Real Conservatives so like being losers that they are prepared to once again go down the clear path to defeat. It's a curious thing, in my opinion.
many people follow the Martin Luther rule:
better to have a competent Turk than an incompetent Christian.
I love it. /s
Of all the players in the ObamacScare drama, the scapegoat for the entire effort to overturn the program will be a conservative challenger to a liberal incumbent Senator in the great state of Missouri.
People ran away from George HW Bush after he said “Read My Lips” and ended up raising taxes anyways. I would hardly consider him to be conservative. I would hope you wouldn’t either.
“ObamacScare” drama?
Very interesting...
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