Posted on 07/01/2011 10:48:12 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Could President Obama beat Rick Perry in Texas in a general-election showdown?
According to a new poll by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, Obama would beat Perry 47 percent to 45 percent. That’s within the poll’s 3.5-point margin of error. But in that same poll, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul beat Obama by 8 and 5 points respectively, while Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty would also win the state (albeit within the margin of error) in the general election.
Dave Carney, a top political adviser to Perry, dismisses the PPP poll, telling National Review Online in an e-mail, “PPP has a long track record in Texas of being wrong.” He pointed to a June 2010 PPP poll that had Perry tied with Democratic gubernatorial Bill White at the same time a Rasmussen Reports poll had Perry 8 points ahead. Perry went on to win in November by a 13-point margin.
“That poll’s wrong,” agreed Ted Delisi, a strategist who has worked as a consultant for Perry during previous gubernatorial campaigns. “I don’t think President Obama has a chance of carrying Texas, regardless of who the Republican nominee is going to be.”
Carney said the poll would have “zero impact” on whether Perry opted to run in 2012.
Yet, pair that with a May University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll showing that only 4 percent of the state’s Republicans would vote for Perry in the GOP primary, and there are bound to be questions about Perry’s in-state popularity — and if Texas Republicans aren’t crazy about him, will Republicans nationwide be interested in nominating him?
Right now, it’s certainly not the case that GOP voters nationwide are skeptical about a Perry candidacy. A Fox News poll released yesterday showed him in second place, commanding 13 percent support among primary voters.
Larry Sabato, director of University of Virgina’s Center for Politics, thinks that the PPP poll “reflects Perry’s controversial nature.” “He is not the most popular figure there. He’s got a lot of enemies. He went as low as 39 percent in his 2006 reelection,” Sabato observes.
Still, Sabato says he “laughed” at the PPP poll’s results. He remarks, “I don’t care how much money they spend. President Obama isn’t carrying Texas.”
Joshua Trevino, vice president of communications at the free-market, non-partisan Texas Public Policy Foundation, points out that Perry is no stranger to defying the odds in competitive races. “With Governor Perry in particular, you are looking at a guy who has fought and won many elections starting from a pretty unfavorable position — most famously, the last gubernatorial election,” he says.
In that election, popular, moderate Texas senator Kay Bailey Hutchison mounted a primary challenge against Perry. According to a February 2009 PPP poll, she had the support of 56 percent of likely GOP voters to Perry’s 31 percent. But on Election Day a year later, Perry won 51 percent to Hutchison’s 30 percent — even with tea partier Debra Medina siphoning off 19 percent of the conservative vote. Once again, Perry had proved it wasn’t accidental — or even just lucky — that he’s never lost an election.
In March, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina told donors in Texas that Obama might make a “serious play” to win the Lone Star State, according to Politico. If that’s still the Obama campaign’s endgame, they must be hoping it’s not Perry who wins the Republican nomination.
— Katrina Trinko is an NRO staff reporter.
This is hilarious! Absurd! Stupid! Funny! RETARDED!
Even those of us that know Perry is a douche know better than this!
Oh Yea. Look at North Carolina. They have infiltrated Asheville and the surrounding areas that were once strongly blue collar conservative.
Once second hand hippy clothing stores begin to spring up, you know the lefties are migrating.
>>According to a new poll by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, Obama would beat Perry 47 percent to 45 percent
All polling was confined to urban Austin.
If Øbama is reelected, at best he may carry 49 states - but he will never carry Texas!
Illegals in TX will vote for Perry.
“depends on the number of illegals voting....”
Do not underestimate that. The process of illegal alien voting has been perfected in California, and the California “activist” can advise the the Texas Democrats.
No way is that poll correct, since there is not a single statewide office held by a dim.
Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 8:17:05 PM by 2ndDivisionVet
If Obama can win Texas, then Texas isn’t Texas anymore.
This statistic alone tells you all you need to know about this poll. It's statistically impossible. The man's name could be Bozo the Clown and he would get more than 4 percent in a primary.
I should start my own polling firm. I could just make stuff up based on my own opinions and put out better polls than some of these jokers.
I said the exact same thing about Tennessee a few days ago after reading a similar bogus poll there.
Dallas, Travis, and Harris counties aren’t enough to win the state.
The only way he can win Texas is if the Dems dig up votes from the illegals.
I plan to retire in Texas and rest assured, I will be bringing red state politics with me. LOL
ROTFLMAO !
Way with words is gold gunner....
Stay Safe wordsmith.
Don’t lose any sleep over this. An honest poll would show that Obamalini should stay out of the state.
Yet!
With the constant flow of illegals supported by O's Administration and the disparity in minority birth rates (3/1), it ain't long. It won't be long and the accomplishments of William Travis, Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie. and a lot of other brave men will be squandered and relegated to the pages of history. It's not long and Texas will be history. A very, very sad fact. The rest of the U.S. ain't far behind.
The plain and simple truth is that there is absolutely no way that The Won is going to win Texas! Of all of the idiot, dolts that I know voted for him in 2008, less than a quarter are still happy with The Won!!!
He will NEVER win Texas - PERIOD!
“I plan to retire in Texas and rest assured, I will be bringing red state politics with me. LOL”
Well, that will be just fine. It was transplants in the ‘80s that really took a lot of the kick out of Texas, but they were there in passing because of the economy.
You DID mean 56 states, right? We supposedly gained 7 states while the President was campaigning back in 2008.
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