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Will ‘Electability’ Sink Trump?
Roll Call ^ | Jan. 3, 2016 | Stuart Rothenberg

Posted on 01/03/2016 8:53:05 PM PST by justlittleoleme

Most national polls show Republican frontrunner Donald Trump trailing likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and faring worse than other GOP hopefuls against her.

That raises an obvious question: Could doubts about Trump's strength in a general election derail his bid for the Republican nomination, or would GOP caucus attendees and primary voters simply ignore poll numbers that suggest Trump would be a risky bet in November?

SNIP

But Quinnipiac University's Dec. 16-20 survey showed Trump's image with all registered voters at 33 percent favorable/59 percent unfavorable - dismal numbers, and the highest unfavorable rating of any GOP hopeful.

Trump trailed Clinton by 11 points, 49 percent to 38 percent, in the mid-December Fox News ballot test, while Cruz and Clinton were tied at 45 percent and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio held a 45 percent to 43 percent lead over Clinton. The Quinnipiac poll found Trump trailing Clinton 47 percent to 40 percent, while Cruz and Clinton were tied at 44 percent and Rubio trailed Clinton by a single point, 44 percent to 43 percent.

But not every survey showed Trump trailing Clinton so dramatically in hypothetical match ups. For example, a Dec. 17-21 CNN/ORC survey showed the two candidates separated by only two points (Clinton 49 percent, Trump 47 percent). Of course, Cruz held a 2-point lead over Clinton and Rubio a 3-point lead in that survey, seemingly confirming that Trump is a weaker nominee against Clinton than at least two other Republican hopefuls.

But even if additional surveys between now and the Iowa caucuses show Trump's relative weakness in the general election, it is not yet clear that GOP voters - and Trump voters - will care. Opinion about the importance of "electability" as an issue for voters has been divided over the years.

(Excerpt) Read more at 3.blogs.rollcall.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: cruzisright; election; elections; ezsleazylawyerted; immigration; nocharismated; stalewhitebreadted; trump; trumpaintright; trumpwasright; trusted
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To: justlittleoleme
Just keep seeing people make the point that we should vote for Trump instead of Cruz because Trump is more electable..... the recent Poll data is not echoing those statements.

My guess is Trump would pull in many alienated non-voters, but lose more people who've voted Republican in recent elections.

What might make him a weaker candidate is that some of those alienated non-voters who respond positively in polls to a name they know might not pull the lever for a billionaire.

The problem for the other candidates is that people have seen Trump at his worst already and have seen a lot thrown at him (pretty much the same with Clinton).

Whether Cruz or Rubio would really be beating or tying Clinton after the media get through with them is harder to say.

261 posted on 01/04/2016 2:12:04 PM PST by x
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To: Amntn

There were no unionistas at the Norcross, Ga rally we attended.


262 posted on 01/04/2016 2:13:46 PM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: editor-surveyor

For the first time in long years I feel some hope for our country. Need to keep it in perspective, but there is hope...


263 posted on 01/04/2016 4:54:43 PM PST by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: justlittleoleme
This is utter BS, and it demands/requires the following:


264 posted on 01/04/2016 5:28:54 PM PST by Grampa Dave (Trump is kicking the ass of the GOPe/RINOs/the media. Don't like him? He must be kicking YOUR ass!!!)
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To: datura
I will be glad to read your opus here after President Trump is inaugurated.

You will not be by yourself! Of course we Trumpettes are so dumb, we would not be able to read it./S

265 posted on 01/04/2016 5:33:12 PM PST by Grampa Dave (Trump is kicking the ass of the GOPe/RINOs/the media. Don't like him? He must be kicking YOUR ass!!!)
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To: editor-surveyor

Excuse me, Mr. Editor, honey, but I am not “simplistic” and haven’t been for 50 years of voting.

How about you?


266 posted on 01/04/2016 7:51:13 PM PST by CatDancer (I'm too old to be a Trumpette, so I'll be a Trumpa-Gram.)
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To: goldstategop

Nothing at all is “locked up” this time.

It DOES look good for us, but it seems too many freedom-lovers are so unused to this, it scares them. Let’s Please not be like Libertarians and scared of winning.

Like JimRob said, quoting Reagan, “we win, they lose.”

Stop being babies!


267 posted on 01/04/2016 8:00:07 PM PST by CatDancer (I'm too old to be a Trumpette, so I'll be a Trumpa-Gram.)
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To: justlittleoleme
This is about the twentieth article claiming the same nonsense in the last couple of days.

It's simply "journalists" (read as: leftist media shills) trying to start a narrative that's not true. Every time they've started a narrative about Trump with polling, they've failed.

I like that......

268 posted on 01/04/2016 8:05:00 PM PST by Lakeshark
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To: kik5150

First, polls are not to be believed - personal observation is. Trump has been at (usually) 39% for weeks. What is that about - other than my deep suspicions.

Cruz (and I like him) has MORE negatives and LESS appeal - that’s observation.

Trump’s band isn’t narrow when it takes in all parties, all races, and independent what-nots like it does. I have been astonished at the man, and I’m too old to astonish easily. I’m having “deja-vu 1980”. Love it.


269 posted on 01/04/2016 8:16:01 PM PST by CatDancer (I'm too old to be a Trumpette, so I'll be a Trumpa-Gram.)
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To: SmokingJoe

Trump is a “she”? Really? So, do you need glasses, or are you just light in the loafers?


270 posted on 01/04/2016 9:41:31 PM PST by WTFOVR (I find myself exclaiming that expression quite often these days!)
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To: WTFOVR

Read the post after that mate(post # 120). Already corrected.


271 posted on 01/05/2016 12:08:36 AM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: SmokingJoe
Deal with it, Trumpbot: Trump is getting clobbered by Hilary Clinton in head to heads, and Ted Cruz is doing a heck of a lot better against Hilary Clinton than Trump is. THOSE ARE FACTS.

Those are poll results, which are easily manipulated. Especially this far out from the election. You assume that it's all or nothing, either all polls are honest or all polls are propaganda. In fact they vary depending on the time, place, pollster and candidate. One thing no pollster can do is claim someone who's popular with 40% of the voters is at 1%. But between today's standing and a year out hypothetical there's a whole world of lying and manipulation to explore.

272 posted on 01/05/2016 2:54:27 AM PST by MaxFlint
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To: MaxFlint
Those are poll results, which are easily manipulated

Like all hem polls from exactly the same people claiming Trump is leading in the GOP primaries yes?
Ok, I get it. Trump is in reality behind in the primaries. Ted Cruz will smoke Trump in the GOP primaries and win the nomination, easy.

273 posted on 01/05/2016 5:14:08 AM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: editor-surveyor
They always find the most simplistic candidate and rally behind him.

Maybee yu r rite, only dum guys like Trump any hoo. Shucks.

274 posted on 01/05/2016 5:20:19 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: kik5150
It's simple. When Trump mocks and insults the other candidates those that support those candidates are less likely to move towards Trump once their candidate drops out.

We're they going to go?

-- Karl Rove.

275 posted on 01/05/2016 5:22:21 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: central_va

there are some including many here who will go nowhere

it’s the cop out of the intellectually lazy


276 posted on 01/05/2016 5:24:42 AM PST by bert ((K.E.; N.P.; GOPc;+12, 73, ....carson is the kinder gentler trump.)
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To: central_va

.
Trump is no Whiz.

He has just been sucking at the Progressive teat, like Gates and Soros.


277 posted on 01/05/2016 9:14:56 AM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: caww

Do you actually believe that? It has been stunning this election cycle watching the candidates, including but to a lesser extent Cruz, shifting positions in response to positions Trump has enunciated. There are videos of Cruz “q & A”s demonstrating his shifting positions from 2011 to current on the topic of birthright citizenship for example.

Cruz is a good man, a strong conservative and an excellent analyst and debater but I have found him to be more willing to meet big business 1/2 way than I am comfortable with. I do not see him as a champion of returning power to the States and the people. He is to me somewhat Don Quixote like in his assaults on the Senate body. Trump is a less pure more pragmatic man. He will get the job done.


278 posted on 01/09/2016 1:37:14 PM PST by JayGalt
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To: justlittleoleme

What the Hell is “electability”? Either a person can get the votes or not.


279 posted on 01/09/2016 1:48:45 PM PST by CodeToad (Islam should be banned and treated as a criminal enterprise!)
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