Poll indicates strong Tea Party support for Romney in NH

Boston Globe ^ | Feb 15, 2011 | Matt Viser

[Innovative]

Former Governor Mitt Romney has struggled to attract support among Tea Party activists in pockets throughout the country, but he appears to have secured broad support among the movement's supporters in New Hampshire.

In a new WMUR poll, his favorability among supporters of the Tea Party is strikingly high - 77 percent and far exceeds any other candidate.

Among Tea Party supporters, Romney's favorability numbers were far higher than even candidates who are viewed as closely aligned with the movement, such as Sarah Palin (whose favorability was 48 percent), Ron Paul (43 percent), and Newt Gingrich (53 percent).

[nhwingut]

NH has certainly become a very deep blue state. The evidence speaks for itself. Look at the last two presidential elections, and look no further.

NH flipped red big time this last election. More than any other state. On the fed level, we elected Repubs for U.S. Senator, and both Congress seats. On state level, we won 300 of 400 House seats, all five Executive Council seats, and 19 of 24 state Senate seats.

That is not deep blue.

This poll is bogus.

[toddausauras]

Ok, fair points. I just can’t shake my feeling that it’s liberal when I see who won the state the last two generals elections. That whole northeast blue blob on the map, you know?

I’m a northeasterner so don’t get me wrong, it’s one of the most beautiful parts of the country. It bugs me that Mitt does have it sown up, and he really does. Mitt will very likely win NH.

Palin 2012.

[toddausauras]

The attention paid NH and Iowa is ENTIRELY media driven.
.........................................................

You’re right. Makes me sick.

[meadsjn]

Here's a more accurate poll from American Spectator:

http://spectator.org/polls/2012-feb-straw-poll/results

Thank you for your interest. The latest round of voting in The American Spectator's 2012 GOP Straw Poll has CLOSED. We'll be polling users again at the beginning of March. Check back then.

Sarah Palin	45.85%
Herman Cain	7.13%
Mitch Daniels	6.00%
Ron Paul	5.89%
Chris Christie	5.77%
Other	4.87%
Jim DeMint	3.55%
Mike Huckabee	3.12%
Mitt Romney	2.85%
Newt Gingrich	2.38%
Paul Ryan	2.14%
Tim Pawlenty	1.72%
Michele Bachmann	1.60%
Mike Pence	1.44%
Haley Barbour	1.17%
Rick Santorum	0.97%
Rand Paul	0.94%
Marco Rubio	0.74%
Rick Perry	0.74%
John Thune	0.66%
Gary Johnson	0.47%

[Just A Nobody]

The evidence speaks for itself.

Ummmmm...yeah...that is why I posted the evidence. Our definitions of "deep blue state" are miles apart. And I see nhwingut added the state level evidence.
Whatever...don't let facts and figures get in the way of your feeeeelings.

[toddausauras]

How many times do I have to tell you what color NH went on election night 2004, 2008? Duh....That`s exactly where and when the modern definition of blue and red states comes from! How many people on FR do you think would call NH a red state? Very few, maybe you and that other guy. Those are the little facts that you are blind too. Are McCain and Romney conservative to you? You’re right, we have very different ideas of what constitutes blue and red states. You are wrong and I am right and it really bothers you.

Repeat after me: ``New Hampshire is a blue state.`` There, I know you said it to yourself when no one was watching. Lol.

[Just A Nobody]

If they are going to pick people out of thin air to put in the poll, where is Congressman LTC Allen West? We need West in the West Wing!

Who is Gary Johnson?

[Just A Nobody]

Stop with the condescending BS!

I posted the actual numbers for the '04 and '08 elections. No, I DO NOT consider a 1.3% loss relegating a state to permanent deep, deep, deep blue status.
Also, I always figure in the rat vote fraud factor. And '08? One word ... MCCAIN! He would have lost by 20% if not for Sarah!

You went from stating NH was a deep, deep, deep blue state, to saying they are a very deep blue state, to claiming I said they are a red state. Do you live in NH? Do you know anyone in NH? Have you ever spent any time in NH? A resident of NH provided you with actual stats on the recent election and you still return with your know-it-all BS!

Let.me.speak.very.slowly.for.you.since.you.must.be.drunk.or.a.lib.

The.only.point.I.tried.to.make.is.that.NH.is.NOT.a.deep.deep.deep.blue.state.or.a.very.deep.blue.state.they.are.simply.a.blue.state.at.this.time.

Moving the goal posts and claiming victory is a lib tactic and does not make you superior or right.

Dismissed!

[toddausauras]

NH is definitely a deep blue state because it has gone for these guys on a national level, in the primary and in the general:

Romney
McCain
Obama (!)
Kerry (!)

Deep blue buddy.

Check mate.

[TheThinker]

The libs want Romney to run against Obama. Even if Romney wins, they believe at least parts of Obamacare will be salvaged.

[southphilly]

WoW
Great info....hahah...

My family came from Italy, I am sure if you go back far enough, you may find a Mafia in my family.

I voted for Romney in that last primary in Florida, and I will vote for him again...I want a MONEY man to have a chance at it.

[Dayman]

I got out of NH in 2005. Up until 2003ish it was the best place I ever lived. I still miss what NH used to be.

[WayneS]

Maybe some members of the Tea Party in NH have been decaffeinated...

[sand lake bar]

One needn’t be perfect to be a good American. I can’t think of a single successful politician in the past 50 years who never flipped on anything.

[sand lake bar]

Oh, and by the way, I did some homework and discovered that Mitt’s grandfather was NOT a polygamist.

[MrB]

Tea Party “membership” is self defined.
Likely scenario - a bunch of RINOs have decided to try to identify themselves as “Tea Party” in order to confuse the issue.

[arderkrag]

I’ve always thought it was odd as well. The primary state should be chosen on a rotational basis.

[andy58-in-nh]

There's a lot of nonsense about New Hampshire being posted on this thread, much of which has been addressed already, and which I'm willing to forgive as it comes from people who clearly don't live here. But as to the poll itself - it was not a "Boston Globe" poll - it is a WMUR-TV (Manchester, NH) poll commissioned by the University of New Hampshire.

The poll sampled adults (i.e. - not registered voters, and definitely not likely primary voters), and then extracted a smaller subset of self-described "Republicans" and "Tea Party supporters" via cross-tabulation and recorded their current preferences.

Three points about this methodology: first, it is unreliable as a matter of sampling error rate, which increases exponentially each time one extracts a response to a subset question. Two: it is far too early (11 months before the NH primary) to draw any conclusions from any such poll, that (three) is itself only a "preference" poll of undeclared, potential, and largely unknown candidates, which naturally skews the results toward familiar faces.

I think the only conclusions one might reasonably draw from the results are that Mitt Romney is well-known in NH (he has a vacation house here and has traveled extensively throughout the state) and that Sarah Palin is relatively unpopular here (for a number of reasons, I think, but that's another subject).

[Theodore R.]

It’s not really the TEA Party there, is it? It’s uninformed, even outright dumb, NH primary voters who think they are political experts.

[Vigilanteman]

It is New England where:

1. TEA Party Republicans = RINO Republicans
   
2. RINO Republicans = Moderate Democrats
   
3. Moderate Democrats = Socialists
   
4. Socialists = Communists