Posted on 03/08/2012 7:54:01 AM PST by pgkdan
A new poll released on the eve of Rick Santorum’s first campaign visit to Alabama shows the former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania leading in the state Republican Party presidential primary.
The statewide poll conducted by Alabama State University’s Center for Leadership and Public Policy showed 22.7 percent of likely Republican voters supported Santorum, who is scheduled to make campaign appearances Thursday in Huntsville and Mobile.
Former Massachussetts Gov. Mitt Romney trailed Santorum with 18.7 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House from neighboring Georgia, with 13.8 percent.
The telephone poll of 470 likely GOP voters showed 29.8 remained undecided and 15 percent saying they intended to support other candidates. The poll did not ask voters whether they supported Ron Paul, the Texas congressman seeking the GOP nomination.
The poll was conducted March 1, prior to the Super Tuesday vote that helped establish Romney and Santorum as leaders in the race for the nomination, with Romney holding a total of 415 delegates and Santorum with 176.
Gingrich, with 105 delegates, canceled campaign plans in Kansas this week to focus on voters in Alabama and Mississippi, which share a primary election day Tuesday.
But the poll results indicate that support for Gingrich is waning in Alabama, according to ASU political science professor Thomas Vocino.
“The numbers are just not in his favor, and the trend is working against him,” Vocino said. “I can’t foresee a situation where he can rebound and win in Alabama.”
Vocino said Gingrich’s support has fallen steeply since ASU began tracking the race five weeks ago. Gingrich led the field in Alabama with 26.9 percent in the initial round of polling on Feb. 2. His support slipped to 18.9 percent by Feb. 23, when results showed him with a slim lead over Santorum at 18.3 percent.
Santorum’s steady increase over the same time period came almost completely at Gingrich’s expense, Vocino said. Romney, by comparison, has held flat at around 16-18 percent, according to Vocino.
The results indicate that Gingrich is unlikely to reach the 20 percent threshold that would allow him to win delegates in any of the state’s seven congressional districts.
“I think it is very problematic for Gingrich to get any” delegates, Vocino said
Except for folks who actually want to be able to do something about it, in which case, your emphasis makes you feel important but renders you actually impotent.
Who are you trying to kid? You are saying that Santorum is some kind of exception to the rule, even after he has clearly demonstrated that during the years he was in office?
Sorry you are correct, there is not hope in pursuing this, to convince me that he is now somebody totally different than he ever was.
Keep it honest about Newt even if slick rick won’t!
>>I don’t think having Gingrich drop out would help Santorum. I really don’t.<<
You might be right, though I doubt it. Once it’s down to any single Conservative vs. Romney, Romney will be taking a lot more fire than he now is. I meant what I said earlier when I pointed out the relative absence of the phrase “Flip-flop” from the GOP conversation. That’s because we’re fighting amongst ourselves to decide who’s going to take him on.
Once that is settled, if it ever is, about all you’ll hear is “Flip-Flop” and there’s plenty of material out there to keep that discussion going. How is “Flip-Flop” going to beat Obama when on most issues Obama can point directly to something Romney has supported in the past of a similar nature? His “electability” will be severely questioned when that discussion ensues, and it’s that presumed electability that is garnering most of his votes.
I won’t happen - I don’t vote for liars. ONLY liars are drawn to liars.
So why did Newt's ego let him leave as Speaker before he was booted out?
majority of non-freepers see santorum as “socially conservative” - not “conservative”. He’s actually a socially conservative big government GOP-e.
Hence i disagree that the general R pop sees santorum as you describe.
Romney [blechhh] has more economic cred than Santorum by a major amount. And yes voters vote w/ pocketbook as much as anything else. Santorum cannot beat Romney irrespective of how many times he’s seen flip-flopping. Romney cannot beat obama for just the reasons you stated.
Gingrich could beat both Romney [1 on 1] and obama but he won’t be nominated.
I hope we win the Senate and keep the house.
What did Newt say about global warming months ago? He has promises because he’s studied the problems and not just today. He’s the brilliant one - the other can’t think passed them getting elected.
If you trust, slick rick, who campaigned and tried his lawyer lying skills with the voters that Mitt is the man for the job in ‘08 - then eat his deception at your own risk. He’ll say ANYTHING for political gain while wearing a slanted rusty halo.
Depends on what he had waiting in the wings for him post-Congress.
I have no disagreement with your analysis (up to a point), as I now recall. Newt suggested that the candidates refrain from attacking each other in response to the baiting questions - but - Mitt was there to take Newt out and would not be deterred from delivering his attack lines.
The point where I would go a bit further is: Newt should have realized that Romney is just another LIBERAL and dealt with him from that perspective.
He was certainly caught off guard and that indicates a weakness/flaw. I would like to see him get the opportunity to show that he has corrected this weakness/flaw.
This is not a “new poll.” It is an old poll. March 1st is not new.
The poll says Mitt Romney leads Newt in Alabama, which is ridiculous.
If it read that Mitt Romney was leading Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania, would you believe it?
Not a chance it happens, sorry.
Well, we’ll never know for sure what might have happened, but I do know this: Newt was running away with the race without ever criticizing any other Republican one bit. They were all at each other - Mitt V Bachmann V Perry V Pawlenty V etc - and Newt was criticizing Obama, the media, academia nuts, congress, etc.
If a genie could grant me one wish, it would be to simply see what would have happened had Newt ignored Mitt and simply kept firing at Obama. I think the entire non Mitt contingent would have rallied around him at that time and this race would be over. I really deeply believe that. But we’ll never know now.
No doubt life’s circumstances often turn on a dime and the best we can do is learn from our experiences and look for another opportunity - you know, the “never give up, never give in” thing.
I am not sure if I am clear on what you are implying; however, there seems to be an idea being advanced by some “right to life” advocates that the “right to life” is SUPERIOR to the right to liberty. I would respectfully disagree. I believe they are equal in importance and value.
My logic for this is as follows: By definition, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are all “inalienable,” God-given rights. If the right to life was superior to the right to liberty then the American Revolution could not have been justified; as that required men to give up their lives for the purpose of securing liberty.
Clearly, our founding fathers understood and endorsed the idea that in order to live in a free society men must be willing to give up their lives, when necessary, to preserve those freedoms. Thus the quote attributed to Jefferson: ““The tree of liberty must be watered periodically with the blood of tyrants and patriots alike.”
That poll was conducted March 1st.
Here is one that is more recent March 5-7
Among the results, 29.9% of voters would pick Mitt Romney, 24.7% of voters pick Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum gets 20.1%, and Ron Paul has 5.6% of those polled, with 19.8% of those polled don’t know or had no reply.
If you can afford to, please help Rick out, even if it’s only $10:
OR
Rick Santorum for President
P.O. Box 37
Verona, PA 15147
OR
1-888-321-6675
yep, except I was inside the Super PAC screaming ahead of time about all this....makes it frustrating.
Anyway, enjoyed the back and forth, even if you foolishly disagreed with me 20%! (just kidding....) :)
I bwill be voting for newt on tuesday. Screw santrum and his sweater.
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