Rudy Giuliani leads the national polls in the race for the Republican nomination, but don’t mistake him for a political star. The latest AP/Ipsos poll tells us who has really won the hearts of GOP voters: nobody.
[N]early a quarter of Republicans are unwilling to back top-tier hopefuls Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain or Mitt Romney, and no one candidate has emerged as the clear front-runner among Christian evangelicals. Such dissatisfaction underscores the volatility of the 2008 GOP nomination fight….A hefty 23 percent can’t or won’t say which candidate they would back, a jump from the 14 percent who took a pass in June.
Giuliani’s popularity continued to decline steadily as he faced a spate of headline headaches, came under increased scrutiny and saw the potential entry of Thompson in the mix; his support is at 21 percent compared with 27 percent in June and 35 percent in March.
It’s particularly interesting that even the inclusion of Thompson in the poll fails to stir Republican passions, though he’s within two points of Rudy. Here’s how the frontrunners stand:
Giuliani 21
Thompson 19
McCain 15
Romney 11
These numbers go a long way toward explaining why Republican fundraising has been so bad this year.
4 Responses to “GOP Frontrunner: “None of the Above””
I agree GOP dissatisfaction is a noteworthy take-away from this poll, but it is also notable for being one of several polls (including a Zogby poll today) to record Thompson surging to even with or ahead of Giuliani. When you consider too that Thompson’s strength is in red states, which get significantly more convention delegates, he has to be considered the new front-runner.
Left–
A lot of Republicans still think of Thompson as a perfect candidate, because they don’t know that much about him. When they find out that he used to lobby for a pro-choice organization and hear more about his personal life, he’ll fold like a wet taco.
What I find entertaining is the fact that so many of the Republicans who were attacking Obama for his alleged lack of experience just a couple of months ago are now getting behind a former mayor and a former one-term Senator.
[...] … and it ain’t Fred Thompson, now on his third campaign manager, either. No, this candidate comes jumps into the fray leading in the polls! [...]
Something to say?
Rudy Giuliani or Vampire Ghouliani?
Left by alec
July 17, 2007 at 2:13pm