Florida becomes even more significant with an early primary on the same day as South Carolina. Non-candidates Fred Thompson and Newt Gingrich pull out front in the Georgia state GOP straw poll. Thompson doesn't just win the poll, he dominates it, with a decidedly un-Giulianiesque 44 percent (Rudy tends to win his polls with numbers in the thirties, or more recently, the twenties...) Here's the breakdown:
The poll was jointly conducted by the Young Republicans and the Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia.
The results were as follows:
Fred Thompson — 188 votes, or 44 percent Newt Gingrich — 77, or 18 percent Rudy Giuliani — 64, or 15 percent Mitt Romney — 40, or 9 percent Mike Huckabee — 18, or 4 percent Duncan Hunter — 10, or 2.3 percent John McCain — 10, or 2.3 percent Ron Paul — 8, or 1.9 percent Tommy Thompson — 6, or 1.4 percent Tom Tancredo — 4, or .9 percent Sam Brownback — 2, or .5 percent John Cox — 2, or .5 percent Jim Gilmore — 0, or 0 percent Meanwhile, in Iowa, a new Desmoines Register poll shows a surprise leader far, far away ahead of the caucuses:
The Des Moines Register poll shows Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is the top choice of 30 percent of those who say they definitely or probably will attend the leadoff Iowa caucuses in January.
McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, nips former New York Mayor Giuliani for second place — 18 percent to 17 percent. The breakdown here is as follows:
Mitt Romney - 30% John McCain - 18% Rudy Giuliani - 17% Tommy Thompson - 7% Sam Brownback - 5% Mike Huckabee - 4% Tom Tancredo - 4% John Cox - 1% Jim Gilmore - 1% Duncan Hunter - 1% Ron Paul - -- Not sure/uncommitted - 12% Three big trends I'm seeing here: Romney's advertising push, his debate performances and his overall Guy Smileyness are starting to resonate outside of Utah. Second, McCain is showing surprising staying power (though these polls were taken pre-immigration "reform" debacle. Third: Giuliani -- balloon -- leaky.
Labels: 2008 election, elections, news and politics, politics, presidential candidates, Republicans |