Posted on 01/01/2012 9:31:16 PM PST by TBBT
Raleigh, N.C. – The Republican caucus in Iowa is headed for a photo finish, with the three leading contenders all within two points of each other. Ron Paul is at 20%, Mitt Romney at 19%, and Rick Santorum at 18%. Rounding out the field are Newt Gingrich at 14%, Rick Perry at 10%, Michele Bachmann at 8%, Jon Huntsman at 4%, and Buddy Roemer at 2%.
(Excerpt) Read more at publicpolicypolling.com ...
Agree, Perry lost me in that first debate -- the one where he accused conservatives of being "heartless" for opposing freebies for illegals.
I've supported Santorum all along. If it's true he is peaking at just the right time in Iowa, O Happy Day!
But to come down to earth again ... it's hard to see where Santorum goes after Iowa. A good showing in the caucuses will likely result in a stronger flow of funds; could be too late to help much though.
: )
ppppolls PublicPolicyPolling
IOWA: Santorum’s up 8 points in the last 5 days. Most popular candidate with 60/30 favorability:
27 minutes ago »
ppppolls PublicPolicyPolling
IOWA: Paul 20, Romney 19, Santorum 18, Gingrich 14, Perry 10, Bachmann 8, Huntsman 4, Roemer 2:
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/01/headed-for-a-photo-finish-in-iowa.html
Anyone winning this who doesn’t have a chance of competing in other states and winning the nomination helps Romney. All it can do is take more delegates, more momentum, more fundraising and more buzz away from the strongest non-Romney, Newt. When the media is practically ready to declare Romney the winner and cancel 48 of the primaries if he even comes in 2nd in IA, we cannot afford to make a “statement” vote here.
If Newt comes in behind Romney, then he is still going to have a massive uphill battle ahead of him. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if Newt was ahead of Romney, even if someone else was 1st.
The bottom line is that if Newt dropped out tomorrow, the election would be over and Romney would have it. There is no other viable candidate out there that can generate the excitement, the fundraising, the endorsements, the support, and seems competent enough to win more votes than Romney. It is a waste of time and conceding defeat to back anyone else than Newt against Romney at this time.
IMO the DMR poll is the one to watch. They documented the surge to Santorum over the course of their poll.
PPP likes to poll as late as possible to effectively pad their record -- they compare themselves to polls from other companies from the week before without acknowledging that those polls cannot and should not reflect a late break for one candidate.
Does anyone know why the Newsmax poll said this:
“Gingrich’s problem is he is not appealing to seniors who are 65 and over,” Towery explained, noting that Gingrich polls best among 35- to 45-year-olds. “It has been consistent in every single poll that I’ve taken. He needs to find a way to reach out to older voters.”
Why the heck would Newt not appeal to seniors? I totally get why he does well with 35-45 year olds since I am one of them, we are Reagan conservatives, and Newt is unquestionably the most Reaganesque Republican in the field. But what is he doing wrong that isn’t selling seniors on him?
If it’s Santorum, Paul, Newt, and Willard all alive going into SC & FL...
I’ll love NEWT’S chances over Liberal Willard in the South.
There’s a chance that Perry will drop out & endorse Gingrich. But I get the feeling Bachmann will say in, knowing she’s a loser, out of sheer spite.
Less gullible, more likely to recognize a snake oil salesman.
Is there an new DMR poll coming out tomorrow? That would be nice.
Thanks. I’ll check it out...
It just underscores the idiocy and ignorance of too many of the Iowa voters. They are not willing to do their own research and instead rely on the ads they get on TV and in the mail. The reason Santorum is able to surge is because no one has targetted him with any negative media coverage, ads or debate questions yet. The stupidity is in thinking that that won’t happen within 7 days of him hitting the top of the polls. He is surging at the right time, which doesn’t tell you he’s any better than Bachman, Cain, Perry, or Newt. It just tells you when the caucus was held.
I guess the real reason he surged is because he got some endorsement from some religious leader, right? Well, I’m sure that random Iowan religious guy will propel Santorum right to the top of the polls in every state and on to the nomination. /sarcasm
If you consider millions of dollars of lies distributed in advertising to gullible Iowans who don’t do their own research a “good look.”
Perry endorse Newt? THAT would be great and I can see it happening because Perry hates Willard’s guts for running all those attack ads against him.
As for Michele, she would be a complete laughing stock if she continued after a 6th place finish, imho.
Nonsense. Santorum is 2nd choice of Bachmann, Newt, and Perry’s voters. He would be well ahead of Romney if Newt drops out, and that may become the scenario that should happen.
If Paul wins it is because Democrats have voted for him, not Republicans.
There’s a chance that Perry will drop out & endorse Gingrich
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Don’t know about that- But how about, Sarah finally taking sides in South Carolina. If Newt could score her, that would take him over the top.
Because they remember?
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