Bad news for Mitt Romney: according a new CNN poll, Rudy Giuliani has caught up to him in the Granite State:
The survey, released Wednesday, shows the former Massachusetts Governor drawing support from 25 percent of Republican primary voters to 24 percent for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
That statistically-insignificant, 1 point margin is a major change from CNN/WMUR’s last New Hampshire poll, taken in July, when Romney held a comfortable 14 point lead over Giuliani.
Update: Just wanted to note this analysis from the article:
So what’s the reason behind Romney’s 9 point drop here in New Hampshire?
“Romney maintains an advantage over Giuliani among Granite State conservatives; but Giuliani has regained the lead among moderate and liberal Republicans while Romney falls to third place with that group,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. In July, Romney had the edge among both moderates and conservatives.
A plurality see Giuliani as the most likeable and the most electable Republican in the field, while McCain is seen as having the right experience to be president.
For the life of me, I’ll never understand how anyone can find Rudy Giuliani “likeable,” but maybe the “electable” part has more to do with his recent gains. Will Romney, just days after taking a Viguerie-esque hard conservative tack, make a new effort to appeal to moderate voters? Will people still think of Giuliani as a moderate if he keeps sounding just as belligerent as the Bush administration? Will Fred Thompson remember what he had for breakfast this morning? Tune in next time, to As the Republican World Turns…
Something to say?
