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The Contest For the Republican Presidential Nomination [Why Fred Thompson has a real chance to win]
Rasmussen Reports ^ | September 19, 2007 | Douglas Schoen

Posted on 09/21/2007 1:10:26 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Recent Rasmussen polling provides important insights into why Fred Thompson has a real chance to win the Republican nomination for President.

The most recent Rasmussen polling shows Thompson leading the field with 28% of likely primary voters followed by Rudy Guiliani (19%) and John McCain (13%). Mitt Romney is in 4th position with 11%.

Thompson is doing so well with likely Republican primary voters because he is perceived as the most conservative candidate in the race. The Republican primary electorate is made up predominantly of ideological conservatives, with better than half of likely voters characterizing themselves in this way.

So with 48% calling Thompson a conservative and only 25% viewing Giuliani this way, the Tennessee Senator would seem to have a decided advantage.

By contrast, 42% called Romney a conservative and 33% called McCain a conservative.

Also, Thompson's favorability at 64% is almost the equal of Giuliani (68%) and is virtually identical to McCain's and Romney’s (63% each).

Complicating Thompson's advance is Romney's early state strategy. Despite his relatively low national numbers, Romney leads in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, and Nevada, according to the Real Clear Politics averages. The latest Rasmussen Reports polling in New Hampshire shows Romney’s lead declining, but he is still on top.

Given that Romney is already seen as the 2nd most conservative candidate in the race, any momentum that he generates by dint of success in early state primaries will only make Thompson's job more difficult. The former Tennessee Senator now only leads in one state, South Carolina, which is now slated to hold its nominating contest after the first three or four ballots are conducted.

Rasmussen Reports releases a daily Presidential Tracking Poll to provide the latest updates on Election 2008.

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Douglas Schoen is a founding and former partner of Penn Schoen & Berland, and a Fox News Contributor.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Philosophy; Politics/Elections; US: Florida; US: Iowa; US: New Hampshire; US: South Carolina
KEYWORDS: conservatism; conservatives; election; electionpresident; elections; firstprinciples; fred; fredthompson; gop; mittromney; nh2008; polls; republicans; rudygiuliani; sc2008; thompson
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Mr. Schoen, while making valid points, is somewhat mistaken: Mr. Thompson is in a statistical tie with Mr. Giuliani in Florida, California, Wisconsin, etc., and leads in Colorado, as well as placing 2nd in many New Hampshire polls. Fred Thompson now leads Rudy Giuliani in the Harris National poll, one of the most respected. Remember: Senator Fred Thompson only declared his candidacy TWO WEEKS AGO!!
1 posted on 09/21/2007 1:10:30 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Fred Thompson/Duncan Hunter or Duncan Hunter/Fred Thompson ticket would be a real winner.


2 posted on 09/21/2007 1:16:22 AM PDT by Dustbunny (The BIBLE - Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
But suddenly, a new contender has emerged.



</sarc>
3 posted on 09/21/2007 1:16:25 AM PDT by counterpunch (“I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush.” —Mitt Romney)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Despite his relatively low national numbers, Romney leads in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, and Nevada, according to the Real Clear Politics averages.

Which is why if he wins the nomination, the dems will take it all.

Romney's organization can target specific areas right now, but the simple fact is that while he looks good on paper, he simply doesn't grab the public the way a novelty act like Clinton or Obama would, and if Americans want a change from Bush, they'll go with either of them or Edwards over Romney.

Romney's bucks can buy him a lot, but he simply can't get those national numbers up.

4 posted on 09/21/2007 1:18:40 AM PDT by Darkwolf377 (Pro-Life atheist living in Boston...)
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To: counterpunch
But suddenly, a new contender has emerged.

Ron Paul now has a fight for that last place spot.

5 posted on 09/21/2007 1:19:21 AM PDT by Darkwolf377 (Pro-Life atheist living in Boston...)
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To: Darkwolf377

Thompson Leads Giuliani While Clinton’s Lead over Obama Grows (Harris Poll) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1899408/posts

Fred leading in Colorado!

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/co/colorado_republican_primary-406.html

Thompson campaigns in Miami’s “Little Havana” neighborhood: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1899393/posts


6 posted on 09/21/2007 1:22:45 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (https://www.fred08.com/contribute.aspx?RefererID=c637caaa-315c-4b4c-9967-08d864cd0791)
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To: Darkwolf377

I have faith that Ron Paul can pull off a last place “win” next year.


7 posted on 09/21/2007 1:23:43 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (https://www.fred08.com/contribute.aspx?RefererID=c637caaa-315c-4b4c-9967-08d864cd0791)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I fear nothing will stop HRC from becoming our next president, but I hope Fred is the nominee in case the American people have a last-minute bout of sanity.


8 posted on 09/21/2007 1:28:58 AM PDT by Darkwolf377 (Pro-Life atheist living in Boston...)
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To: Darkwolf377
I hope that you misunderestimate the common sense of the American people. I don’t see how Hillary Clinton can paint herself as even a moderate, much less a centrist in the general election. She just voted against the resolution condemning MoveOn’s “General Betray-us” attack in the senate, for goodness sake!!
9 posted on 09/21/2007 1:32:09 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (https://www.fred08.com/contribute.aspx?RefererID=c637caaa-315c-4b4c-9967-08d864cd0791)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
I hope that you misunderestimate the common sense of the American people.

Well, I live in Boston and work in CAMBRIDGE, so you'll have to take that into account. ;)

The fact is that after eight years the American people would like a change. If a Clinton is their idea of change, we're done for; if a conservative who actually leads AS a conservative more often than W has (and I LIKE W, and much of what he's done, but in terms of illegal immigration, budgets, etc. he isn't as conservative as I want) is their idea of change, Fred is in.

But I see the media hyping this person, and the 24-hour guilt sessions which in ways obvious and subtle that tell us we need a woman, a non-white-male, for president for "CHANGE!"...well, it doesn't look good.

10 posted on 09/21/2007 1:39:11 AM PDT by Darkwolf377 (Pro-Life atheist living in Boston...)
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To: Darkwolf377
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

; )

Just funnin' y'all...

11 posted on 09/21/2007 1:39:23 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: Caipirabob

LOL!


12 posted on 09/21/2007 1:40:17 AM PDT by Darkwolf377 (Pro-Life atheist living in Boston...)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet; doug from upland; Sun; All
And with Thompson running against Hillary, he could run her right off any debate stage by simply mentioning Huang, Trie, Chung, Raidy - and now Hsu:

Chinagate: The Movie
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1814236/posts

13 posted on 09/21/2007 1:47:19 AM PDT by Mr Apple
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To: CitizenX

fyi


14 posted on 09/21/2007 2:00:50 AM PDT by Mr Apple
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To: Dustbunny

I’ve explained this several times before.
Picking a running mate from the presidential field is extremely rare, and when it happens, it’s a strong runner-up, not the last place candidate.
VP picks are chosen to “balance” a ticket in one way or another, either ideologically or regionally or demographically.
Duncan Hunter doesn’t bring anything to a Thompson ticket electorally at all.
The only presidential candidate that makes sense from an electoral standpoint is Rudy Giuliani. And it is unlikely that Thompson will end up picking him.
Thompson will probably want someone who hasn’t been picked apart by the media quite as much as Rudy by the time the nominee is chosen.
There are a lot of people out there who could change the dynamics of the race in a lot of ways.
George HW Bush was a smart choice for Reagan, because the GOP was bitterly divided at the time between the western conservatives and the eastern Rockefeller wing. That is much less true today, but it is Rudy, not Duncan who would bridge such a gap.

Kerry picking Edwards didn’t make any sense. A popular Democrat from Ohio or Florida — perhaps Bill Nelson — would have been a lot smarter. The only logic behind Kerry picking Edwards seems to be that political pundits thought they made a cute couple. Edwards brought no one to the Democrat ticket, and appealed only to the hardcore Democrat base — ironically enough because they had convinced themselves that Edwards would appeal to southerners and women. But what do urban homosexuals know about appealing to either?

Expect Fred’s choice of running mate to be based on political analysis of which battleground state could be flipped to the GOP by choosing the right popular politician from the state. Here’s a hint: it will not be California and Duncan Hunter.


15 posted on 09/21/2007 2:14:07 AM PDT by counterpunch (“I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush.” —Mitt Romney)
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To: Mr Apple
run her right off any debate stage by simply mentioning Huang, Trie, Chung, Raidy - and now Hsu:

Chinagate: The Movie

Clinton for POTUS:

You've read the book, now see the movie. </sarcasm>

16 posted on 09/21/2007 2:34:21 AM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (The idea around which liberalism coheres is that NOTHING actually matters except PR.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Do people really vote with their brains? I attempt to, and think a lot of us here do so as well.

However, the media makes this a kind of popularity contest that has little to do with policy, leadership ability, management style or intellect. It’s about who can sling the most mud and make it stick. It’s entertainment, not seriousness. I doubt people are really thinking about what they’re going to get with their vote, otherwise we wouldn’t have had to suffer though the last Clinton administration.


17 posted on 09/21/2007 2:38:03 AM PDT by dajeeps
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I guess we can throw tort reform, a marriage amendment, the border fence, and employer-based enforcement of illegal immigration out the window...

Great. *rolls eyes*


18 posted on 09/21/2007 2:38:12 AM PDT by CheyennePress
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To: conservatism_IS_compassion

bttt


19 posted on 09/21/2007 2:52:52 AM PDT by Mr Apple
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To: Darkwolf377
"Ron Paul now has a fight for that last place spot."

Latest poll results show him tied with "None of the Above".

20 posted on 09/21/2007 4:16:02 AM PDT by traditional1 ( Fred Thompson-The ONLY electable Republican Candidate)
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