FReepmail “Antoninus” to be added or removed.
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
If Newt can’t win in Alabama, then he has no “southern strategy.”
What I have noticed is the media’s unwillingness to acknowledge Santorum’s appeal outside the midwest.
Single issue moralists continuing to vote against their better economic interests.
Go Rick!
Need to get behind his momentum before the msm and gope get their minions out with their propaganda again.
I remain quite skeptical that 470 people can be that accurate in the overall scheme of things in Alabama. I know, I know, I still remain skeptical.
Newt may or may not be in this bad of shape down there. If he is, it doesn’t bode well for him.
Newt’s and Romney’s PACs have been running it already in Mississippi.
Wow, and this poll was taken March 1st, and only accounts for 55% of the vote. Essentially worthless...
FReepmail “Antoninus” to be added or removed.
Tracks Newts national number of around 14%, it is a safe bet Rick will win the southern states.
I don’t believe it. I live in bama and I see a lot of support for Newt.
How can Romney be close in Alabama? Help me out, Alabamans.
The other headline I have seen on this is: “Undecided would win the Alabama Primary if held today.”
This is why I am concerned about Newt. He can’t even win southern or semi-southern states like Tennessee and now looks like Alabama.
He can’t possibly win without the south.
Santorum has a better grip on foreign policy than Newt. He communicates more clearly about it as well. I'm not so thrilled about a lot of his other positions, but he is more trustworthy than Newt's propensity to chase the fashion of the moment, be it biodiversity, global warming, carbon trading, or healthcare mandates.
Get a grip.
Don’t worry. By Tuesday morning Team Romney will have outspent him in Alabama 6 to 1 and will have successfully carpet-bombed him into second place.
I appreciate the mention. I’d like to see him do it. I have thought he would, but we’ll see. Newt’s folks are convinced he’s on a one state roll...
A patry lead to be sure but it don’t look good for Newt in Alabama one of the few states you’d think he’d be competitive in.
If “other candidates” is all Ron Paul (who’s name wasn’t in the poll) then Newt is in 4th like he was in most Super Tuesday states. Vote Santorum.
“Single issue moralists continuing to vote against their better economic interests.”
Santorum is just their version of Mitt Romney.
By “Patry” I mean “Paltry”.
remember how some threads popped up on here saying Santorum is leading GA, or Newt is neck and neck with Santorum.
Look at those past threads and then this one and they all have one thing ion common for sure and that is.
These polls are useless based on a few hundred and why these kind of polls are put on here and other places seem to be pointless or maybe osme put them on here for an agenda, though why I don’t know it’s not exactly going to stop those 50 freepers from AL to change their vote.
I’m not convinced the citizens of those states are going to buy what the carpet bagger is selling, but you’re certainly right about Romney’s attempt to purchase the election as if at a discount yard sale.
That Santorum can win any state, is amazing in light of the spending ratios, between him and Romney.
You’ve got to be kidding?
Santorum’s foreign policy? What is THAT exactly?
Amazing how a back bench Senator tossed out of office by 18% less than a decade ago, is now a genius foreign policy wonk.
I simply wont play this make-believe game people are engaging in in order to make this guy into something other than a total put on.
you actually trust this poll or does anyone actually think this is true?
We’ve had many polls in the past saying Newt was way behind in GA and look at that result.
Hopefully Newt wins AL, MS and maybe Santorum wins KS.
More numbers Romney cannot get IMHO
No,no, no. He just decided to let Alabama and Mississippi go—like Kansas—and focus his surging efforts on the 51st-57th states.
Good attempt to twist the facts (again) But we are way ahead of you! (Week old data won't help you anymore)
Latest PollsState PollsNational Polls
Alabama Republican Primary (National)
National Average as of 3-1 to 3-6
Mitt
Romney31%
Rick
Santorum22%
Newt
Gingrich21%
Ron
Paul 7%
But Santorum is still far, far better preferable to Romney and I would have no qualms about voting for him if ti comes down to those two.
Over the last several months, it has seemed as if Newt had a new promise almost every other day. While some of it was things I wanted to hear, it still had the distinct sound of being a hollow promise to me. I know his followers are buying every bit of it, but a guy stupid enough to sit there with Pelosi waxing rhapsodic on the issue of global warming et al, is not going to do half the things he’s promising. At least that’s my take on it.
Frankly I do trust Santorum more.
Or maybe Canada. Newt’s got a lot of support in Canada. Just you wait. He’ll show ‘em.
Fed up of certain threads which put B/S polls up just like saying Newt was losing GA, it’s pathetic, it really is.
Now watch FOX go into full attack on Newt again like every time he looks to win because the establishment are petrified of Newt and FOX does what the establishment wants
No, I'm not. He was on the Foreign Relations Committee and is quite knowledgeable. I suggest a little cruising of C-Span's site (no, I'm not going to do it for you).
Santorum’s foreign policy? What is THAT exactly?
I take it you've been listening carefully. Try something other than Fox for a change.
Newt expected to win TN on Tuesday and was talking about it just a couple of weeks ago. I think Rick's a lot stronger in the South than people give him credit for. The media's dying for a brokered convention...so are a bunch of Freepers...to that end the template is that Santorum is 'only ' strong in the midwest and Newt controls the South. And therefore neither is strong enough to win outright, hence a brokered convention. I think that's b.s.
Is that you Rudy Giuliani? The flaw in your thinking is that without a foundational belief in the sanctity and value of each and every individual life, one has no consistent basis for the principles of a free market.
If one can arbitrarily snuff out segments of the population, one artificially screws with the generational balance of producers and consumers.
"Fixing the economy" with meat axe tax cuts, deregulation of private industry, deconstructing useless redundant bureaucracies and a dynamic energy policy, while critical first steps, will ultimately amount to little more than a band-aid on a bullet hole without a restoration of more traditional morality.
While that can not, and should not, be legislated, it will never occur without an emphasis on personal morality and responsibility at the top.
Yes, by all means, let’s wait until the general election to let him face the MSM. /sarc
Having a political base in Georgia is not necessarily a guarantee someone is going to have a following in the surrounding states. If that is what people are basing hope for Newt on, that has virtually no effect on this at all.
On top of that, it isn’t like Newt sounds like a Southerner or something.
I personally am not happy with any of these guys. Kind of depressing actually.
After looking at the numbers reported out, I think that’s a rather good headline. Thanks for the mention.
The people in some states don’t take a real hankerin to folks from outside the area. I suspect many of that 29% undecided had a pretty good idea who they were going to vote for.
I think Ricky is working for Mitt anyway. He is pure establishment GOP. His mission is to split the conservative vote, eliminate Newt, and block for Romney. Then we will be treated to a big reunion with a Mitt/Ricky ticket. Ricky supported Mitt last time, and even told us he’s a ‘team player’ for the gop.
Ricky is the 2012 version of Huckabee. This is probably why Sara lined up against Ricky.
We'll see soon enough. There's other polling ion the state that shows Romney in the lead and Rick insecond and Newt trailing closely enough to call it a tie in second.
I think Ricky is working for Mitt anyway. He is pure establishment GOP. His mission is to split the conservative vote, eliminate Newt, and block for Romney. Then we will be treated to a big reunion with a Mitt/Ricky ticket. Ricky supported Mitt last time, and even told us he’s a ‘team player’ for the gop.
Ricky is the 2012 version of Huckabee. This is probably why Sara lined up against Ricky.
If not Canada, then Guam. Newt’s really, really big in Guam. Just you wait. Newt’ll show ‘em.
Pulling hard for Santorum here in Louisiana!
And Romney would be in last place if the anti-Romney vote weren’t split.
Yeah, let’s forget the issues of liberty and freedom and economics, and all subvert it to gay marriage and contraception and the right to life.
Because as we know, those unborn babies will do a great job of fighting for themselves after all of us adults have all our money, time and freedom stripped from us because of some esoteric idea that there is a philosophical tie between morality and freedom. Yes, the tie is there, but if we are retarded in how we apply that tie, we lose, lose, lose.
But you’ll feel good about our moral superiority while in servitude I guess. As for me, i’ll help with the unborn as soon as the government gets out of my way and lets me take care of my ALREADY BORN children!!!!!1
Your opinion, is obviously tainted, since you decided to post this BS in the first place. Any half hearted search, would have revealed what I just posted above. And you know it.
RS may be winning Alabama, I don’t know. But a poll of only 470 is bogus.
Exactly what I was thinking. Santorum = Huckabee 2
Santorum was a good Senator, and not a back-bencher. So tired of all the attacks this year. He’s not my choice, but that doesn’t mean we have to diminish his contributions. Santorum lost big in 2006 in large part because he held strong on the issues we believed in....supporting the administration on Iraq policy over the Code Pink attacks, among others. He also got beat in a year where the party got destroyed, and we lost a lot of great congress members and Senators.
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