Huckabee surges into second place in Florida as critical debate looms

Southern Political Report ^ | Nov. 27, 2007 | Gary Reese

[FocusNexus]

Mike Huckabee has moved into second place among Republican presidential hopefuls in Florida, according to a new InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research poll of likely voters in the Jan. 29 GOP Florida primary.

The poll's results serve to ratchet up the drama as the Republican candidates prepare to debate on CNN Wednesday night from St. Petersburg, and InsiderAdvantage and the Florida Chamber of Commerce prepare to conduct an unprecedented poll that will determine the winner of the debate.

Here are the results of the pre-debate poll, conducted Sunday and Monday nights:

Question: "If the Florida Republican presidential primary election were held today, would you vote for..."

Rudy Giuliani (26%)

Mike Huckabee (17%)

John McCain (13%)

Mitt Romney (12%)

Fred Thompson (9%)

Ron Paul (3%)

Duncan Hunter (1%)

Tom Tancredo (1%)

Undecided (18%)

The poll was conducted Nov. 25 and 26 among 675 likely voters in the January Republican primary. It has a margin of error of about three-and-a-half percent.

[FocusNexus]

Who would have thought?!

I think this shows the danger of being a one issue voter. Huckabee has been consistently pro-life, but that is not enough to make a good president.

I think Fred Thompson called Huckabee a "pro-life liberal" and he is right.

That's why Republicans need to look at the full record of the candidates, or we may end up with Huckabee, who, besides the fiscal liberal policies he would implement, would get demolished by Hillary.

[Signalman]

Huckabee would be a disaster for the GOP as the candidate and would most certainly lose the election.

[NavVet]

I would vote for Romney before the Huckster. At least there is some theoretical chance that Romney truly has morphed into a conservative.

[mallardx]

Huckabee, like Ron Paul, is being set up by the media to fracture the Republican party. Pay attention folks, the media has a lot of sway.

[napscoordinator]

Seriously Fred is 9 percent. Come on. This cannot be a reliable poll. Everyone knows I am Duncan all the way, but Fred was at least an acceptable possible nomination. This is ridiculous.

[dano1]

and still moving up in Iowa:

From NBC’s Domenico Montanaro:

Obama and Clinton on the Democratic side and Romney and Huckabee on the Republican side are in dead heats in Iowa, according to a new poll out conducted by Strategic Vision, a Republican pollster.

First Read got a look at some of the numbers, and they show Romney at 26%; Huckabee at 24%; Giuliani at 14%; Thompson at 10%; McCain at 7%. On the Democratic side, Clinton and Obama are tied at 29%; and Edwards is slightly behind at 23%.

The poll was conducted from Nov. 23 to 25 with a sample size of 600 likely caucus goers from each party and has a margin of error of +/- 4.5%.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Correct. This poll is bullcrap.

[MaestroLC]

Huckabee would be a disaster for the GOP as the candidate and would most certainly lose the election.

I completely agree. He's the GOP Obama.

[drpix]

[roses of sharon]

Huck a wartime President?

I just don’t see it yet.

[rightinthemiddle]

The MSM loves Huckabee (now, anyway) because they know he’ll LOSE if he gets the nomination.

It’s kinda like letting the manager of the other team pick your starting pitcher. (hey, that’s pretty good)

[Biblebelter]

InsiderAdvantage and the Florida Chamber of Commerce prepare to conduct an unprecedented poll that will determine the winner of the debate.

Opinion polls and debates, and opinion polls telling you, who won the debates. The MSM is working hard to nominate candidates while bypassing things such as real polls with real voters.

[RockinRight]

And the downside to the Christian Right movement from a political standpoint.

For many, the ONLY thing that matters is abortion. Hence Huckabee’s support. Fred’s also pro-life but he’s not a “zealot” on the issue, so therefore they gravitate to the preacher guy.

That’s dangerous. Kuncinich is pro-life too, wanna vote for him?

Sheesh.

[Ol' Sparky]

I'd vote for Huckabee before I'd vote for Romney for several reasons. Huckabee is, at least, a legitimate social conservative, he does have a history of balancing budgets as governor of Arkansas and he, in my opinion, is far more likely to keep his word than Romney, who has a history of flop-flipping and saying what is necessary to get elected.

And, no, I'm not saying either is a great candidate. But, unfortunately, there isn't a purely conservative candidate that can win the nomination.

[Nervous Tick]

Huck a wartime President? I just don’t see it yet.

I hope you'll forgive me for making a minor fix...

[Ol' Sparky]

Huckabee, like Ron Paul, is being set up by the media to fracture the Republican party.

So, is Giuliani...

Unfortunately, the Republican party has been too stupid to give the base a candidate that conservatives can get excited about and unify the base.

Fred Thompson should have been that candidate. But, he is run a terrible campaign. Alienating social conservatives may have eliminated any chance he has.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

I am afraid Fred is crashing.

[Ol' Sparky]

I think Fred Thompson called Huckabee a "pro-life liberal" and he is right.

How many liberals balanced a budget every year in office?

Huckabee has been liberal on multiple issues but less so than Giuliani or Romney.

Fred is still the more conservative candidate. But, it's questionable whether he can win the nomination after making so many early blunders and because he has been lukewarm on social issues.

[Beagle8U]

Huckabee is the MSM’s pet rock, and they are trying to sell him to Republicans dumb enough to buy something worthless.

[M203M4]

Some kind of sick joke?

Faux-Republicans (not even faux-conservatives)
Rudy Giuliani (26%)
Mike Huckabee (17%)

Faux-conservatives
John McCain (13%)
Mitt Romney (12%)

Consistent conservatives
Fred Thompson (9%)
Ron Paul (3%)
Duncan Hunter (1%)
Tom Tancredo (1%)

Holy dumbocracy batman...exact correlation with the media's liberal hedge campaign.