Rasmussen's latest telephone survey shows former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with 34% support and a nineteen-point lead. Making the most of his home field advantage, Romney has steadily increased his lead from fifteen points earlier in November, nine-points in October and three-points in September. After Romney, there is a virtual three-way tie for second place between former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Senator John McCain at 15% and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee at 14%.
November 2007 Archives
Read full CNN/Opinion Research Poll on the Democrats and on the Republicans
If Florida's January 29 primary were held today, Hillary Clinton would beat Barack Obama by 51 percent to 21 percent. On the Republican side, a CNN/Opinion Research survey earlier this week showed Rudy Giuliani would win big in Florida, outpolling Mitt Romney by 38 percent to 21 percent. However, both frontrunners in Florida face the challenge that they are not doing as well in the caucus and primary states that will vote before Florida. CNN Polling Director Keating Holland, noted in his analysis of the Democrats' poll, that six in ten likely Democratic primary voters have not made up their minds and a quarter said that they will wait until the first primaries to decide who to vote for, "so the outcome in the Sunshine State is difficult if not impossible to predict."”
Despite significant political attention to healthcare reform in the 2008 presidential campaign, Gallup's annual Health and Healthcare poll shows there has been no increase over the past year in Americans' concern about the national healthcare system. It also shows a possible decline in Americans' already modest concerns about their own healthcare coverage
Continue reading No Increase In Public Pressure For Healthcare Reform.
See the full Clemson University Palmetto Poll
Most South Carolina voters are still unsure about who they will support in the Jan. 19 Republican primary and Jan. 26 Democratic primary. The number of undecided voters is up, and 65 percent of Republicans and 51 percent of Democrats said they were likely to change their minds before January. On the GOP side, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson were in a virtual dead heat at 17% and 15% respectively, with Mike Huckabee closing fast at 13 per cent. John McCain is at 11% and Rudy Giuliani, at 9 percent, has lost the most ground. Among Democrats, all the top contenders are within the margin of error, with Hillary Clinton has slide 7 points since the last poll and at 19 percent is barely ahead of Barack Obama at 17 percent. John Edwards at 12 percent runs third, in the only primary state he won in 2004. The survey polled 450 likely Republican voters and 450 likely Democratic voters, and had a margin of error of 4.62 percent.
Read the full Center for Public Leadership report
The Center for Public Leadership at the Kennedy of School of Government has done its third national study of public confidence in leadership and reports that 64 percent of Americans do not trust news media coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign. 88 percent strongly or somewhat strongly agreed that presidential coverage by the press focused too much on trivial issues and 61% percent believed the press was not telling them enough about candidates’ specific policy plans for the future. On issue of bias, 40 percent said presidential campaign coverage was too liberal and 21 percent said it was too conservative, leaving 30 percent who answered that there was no bias. Aside from views of the press, the Center found that the only sectors of American leadership where Americans had more than a moderate amount of confidence are in the military and the medical field. The study, which also includes detailed responses on public views of the candidates and the issues, sampled 1,207 respondents between September 4-17.
See the full Pew Research Center analysis
The most recent Pew Gloabl Attitudes Survey found that pessimism about Israeli-Palestinian relations is common throughout much of the Middle East. More than seven-in-ten Palestinians, Egyptians, Jordanians, and Kuwaitis do not believe the rights and needs of the Palestinian people can be taken care of as long as the state of Israel exists. Lebanese opinions diverge sharply along religious lines: Christians and Sunni Muslims tend to believe coexistence is possible, while few Shia Muslims share this view. Optimism is more common in Israel, however -- 61% of Israelis believe a way can be found for Israel to exist and for Palestinian rights and needs to be addressed.
See the full Gallup Poll analysis
A recent USA Today/Gallup poll explored in detail the views of Americans who can be considered Clinton detractors - the 44% of registered voters who say they definitely would not vote for Clinton for president in 2008. The most common specific explanation given -- simple dislike of her -- is probably also the most basic, mentioned by 25 percent of Clinton nonsupporters. Dislike for Bill Clinton ranked second as a reason and the perception that she's too much of a politician and flip-flops on issues ranked third. Resistance to the idea of a woman president was further down the list.
See full Pew Research Center poll
For the first time in a long time, nearly half of Americans express positive opinions about the situation in Iraq. A growing number says the U.S. war effort is going well, while greater percentages also believe the United States is making progress in reducing the number of Iraqi casualties, defeating the insurgents and preventing a civil war in Iraq.
Read full Indianapolis Star story
Disillusioned with President Bush's handling of the war, the economy and immigration, nearly half of likely voters in Indiana appear poised to buck 40 years of tradition and vote for a Democratic presidential ticket -- if it includes Sen. Evan Bayh, according to a new Indianapolis Star-WTHR (Channel 13) poll. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said the nation is headed in the wrong direction and only 28 percent approved of George W. Bush's performance as president. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points for all respondents and plus or minus 4.6 percentage points for likely voters. It was conducted by telephone Nov. 13-16.
Clinton -- the dominant front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in national polls -- would appear to have at least a slight advantage over any Republican candidate among registered voters if the election were held today. She has a five-point edge over Giuliani (49% to 44%) and a six-point edge over McCain (50% to 44%), but neither lead is statistically significant. Clinton runs much more strongly against the lesser-known Thompson (53% to 40%) and Romney (54% to 38%).
The poll of 897 registered voters nationwide was conducted Nov. 11-14, 2007.
See full Media General News Service story
Rudy Giuliani has moved to a lead over Hillary Rodham Clinton in Florida in a new poll, which also suggests that the boycott of Florida by Democratic candidates may be harming their chances of winning Florida in the 2008 election. The Mason-Dixon Polling & Research survey, done for The Tampa Tribune and other news agencies, showed Giuliani, former New York City mayor, leading Sen. Clinton of New York by 50 percent to 43 percent, with 7 percent undecided.
See full Washington Post/ABC News Poll
Mike Huckabee triples his support in Iowa since July, surging past Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson and John McCain. Mitt Romney still is in the lead, backed by 28 percent of likely Iowa caucus-goers, but Huckabee, benefitting from strong support from Christian conservatives, has moved into second, with 24 percent.
The public’s rating of Congress is among the lowest that Gallup has measured, dating back to 1974. Sixty-nine percent disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job, compared with an approval rating of only 20 percent. President Bush’s approval rating is 32 percent.
Mitt Romney has widened his lead in New Hampshire with his support growing from 25 percent to 33 percent since September, with John McCain at 18 percent and Rudy Giuliani at 16 percent. Ron Paul increased his standing from 4 percent to 8 percent, while Fred Thompson plummeted from 13 percent to 4percent. The poll of 404 Republican voters was conducted last week by the University of New Hampshire. The sampling error is 5 percent.
See full Washington Post/ABC News Poll
The factors that have made Hillary Clinton the clear national frontrunner do not appear to be translating on the ground in Iowa. Barack Obama draws support from 30 percent of likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa, compared with 26 percent for Clinton and 22 percent for former senator John Edwards. Bill Richardson received 11 percent.
Gallup says this is the highest level of pessimism since it began asking the “getting better/getting worse” question in 1991. In 1992, President George Bush lost his bid for re-election when 71 percent of Americans told Gallup the economy was getting worse.
See full St. Louis Post Dispatch story
Missouri voters are upset with the Iraq war, illegal immigration, President Bush and the direction of the country. They appear to be receptive to putting Democrats in charge of the White House, but also are signaling deep misgivings about both parties' top candidates. A survey of 800 voters showed Missourians favoring Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton over GOP frontrunner Rudolph Giuliani and all the other top Republican contenders.
Much has been written about the power of African-American S.C. voters this election season, expected to cast half of all votes in the state’s January Democratic primary. But plenty of attention also is being heaped on Democratic white voters, some of whom take a different view of the country’s political landscape than African- American Democrats. According to the most recent Winthrop/ETV poll, 40 percent of white Democrats in South Carolina who say they are likely to cast a ballot in January’s primary are supporting U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York. Even taking into account the margin of error at 5.85 percent — too high to be statistically sound — the data offers a glimpse at what white Democrats are thinking, including their formidable support for Clinton.
New York Sen. Hillary Clinton continues to hold a strong 27-point lead over second-place rival Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the national standings with former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards further behind in third place. The poll was taken before Thursday night's Democratic debate in Las Vegas.
See full Orlando
Sentinel story
Hillary Clinton remains comfortably ahead of her Democratic challengers in Florida's presidential primary race, and Rudy Giuliani appears to be pulling away from the Republican pack. About 42 percent of likely Democratic primary voters support Clinton, while 15 percent back Barack Obama. On the GOP side, Giuliani is now at 36 percent among likely GOP voters, with Mitt Romney in second at 15 percent.
See full Rasmussen Reports poll
The latest Rasmussen telephone survey of the race shows Romney with support from 29% of Likely Caucus Participants. Trailing the frontrunner by thirteen percentage points is Mike Huckabee, who enjoys support from 16%. In a virtual tie for second with Huckabee are Rudy Giuliani at 15% and Fred Thompson at 14%. Further back are John McCain (6%), Ron Paul (4%), Tom Tancredo (4%), and Duncan Hunter (2%). Nine percent (9%) are undecided.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani continues to lead the field in support among Republicans, but the candidates appear more tightly bunched than at other times this year, suggesting the possibility of a highly competitive contest for the party’s presidential nomination.
Most Americans expect the United States to have a significant number of troops in Iraq several years after the 2008 election, regardless of which party wins the presidency. Americans believe the withdrawal process will happen more quickly if a Democrat rather than a Republican is elected president. Perhaps because of that, Americans are more likely to predict the U.S. military will be in Iraq longer than it should be if a Republican is elected than if a Democrat is elected.
See full story from Knowledge@Wharton
Turn on the Internet, pick up your telephone or cell phone, read a newspaper or watch television: No matter what the communication vehicle is, polls and the reporting of poll results are ubiquitous. Yet how accurate are polls? Can they be manipulated? How do the Internet and the proliferation of cell phone users affect both marketing and political polls? And which polls are the most reliable?
See full CBS News/New York Times Poll story
Huckabee is now at 21 percent of likely Iowa caucus-goers compared with the leading Republican Mitt Romney, whose support stands at 27 percent. Iowa Republicans cited illegal immigration as the top issue, at 20 percent, with 15 percent saying Iraq was the issue candidates should most discuss. Forty-four percent of GOP caucus-goers believe illegal immigrants should leave the U.S. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama are bunched on top at 25 percent, 23 percent and 22 percent respectively. Clinton and Romney lead comfortably in New Hampshire.
See full New York Times article
Democratic voters in Iowa and New Hampshire — the states that begin the presidential nominating battle — say Sen. Barack Obama and John Edwards are more likely than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to say what they believe, rather than what they think voters want to hear, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Polls. But they also view Clinton as the best prepared and most electable Democrat in the field. On the GOP side, voters say they like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney best on the issue of immigration, but believe that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani would be more electable next November.
See full Columbus Dispatch story
In the presidential horse race, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is showing some slippage. She now trails Arizona Sen. John McCain by 4 points after leading by 10 just a month ago. The New York senator now edges former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani by only a single point, down from a 6-point margin in October.
And her lead over former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson has dropped to10 points from 14 last month, and what was a 17-point blowout over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has fallen to 9. Also, Ohioans don’t want Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland to be a VP candidate.
Although Americans continue to say the war in Iraq should be the top priority for the president and Congress, the latest Gallup Panel poll finds Americans increasingly likely to mention the nation's economy as the area most in need of government attention.
Americans went to the polls in November 2006 and voted enough Republicans out of office to give the Democrats majority control of Congress. A year later, Americans are as negative about the job Congress is doing as they were leading up to the 2006 midterm elections. And according to recent Gallup polling, Americans are distinctly negative about the Democrats’ handling of several front-burner policy issues.
See full Quinnipiac University Poll article
Ohio voters oppose issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants by 84 percent to 11 percent, and they favor building a fence along the Mexican-U.S. border and creating a national ID card for all legal residents and citizens by large margins. They also oppose, 61 percent to 35 percent, providing a free public education to children of those in the United States illegally, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.
A new nationwide Pew Research survey finds that African Americans see a widening gulf between the values of middle class and poor blacks, and nearly four-in-ten say that because of the diversity within their community, blacks can no longer be thought of as a single race. Looking backward, just one-in-five blacks say things are better for blacks now than they were five years ago.
Gallup says that while most Republicans are unaware of Giuliani’s positions on abortion and gay rights, they nevertheless generally perceive him to be liberal or moderate on moral values issues. In its most recent poll, most Republicans expressed a preference for a nominee who is conservative on such issues. But even among these voters, Giuliani had more support for the nomination than any of his competitors.
Hillary Clinton may be leading the national polls,but voters rate her and Barack Obama about the same on leadership qualities needed to be president. On the GOP side, Rudy Giuliani does better than Fred Thompson or Mitt Romney on this score.
See full St. Petersburg Times article
Florida is looking like another presidential nail-biter, at least ahead of Election Day. This battleground state is up for grabs by either Republicans or Democrats, and as for now, neither frontrunner for the nominations in either party – Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani – has Florida locked up.
Two months before the primary, Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton are ahead, but both show vulnerabilities.
See full Cleveland Plain Dealer article
While the survey results suggest America's bellwether state might be turning against Republican leadership, don't paint Ohio blue just yet. Ohio voters -- often a barometer of the national mood -- still look to the GOP to guide them on national security, immigration and taxes, issues already getting plenty of attention in the presidential campaign.
Gallup says only about one-third of Americans say the recent U.S. troop surge is making the situation in Iraq better, and the majority of Americans continue to say it was a mistake to send troops there in the first place. The poll said that although Americans are pessimistic about progress in the war, a slim majority still believe the United States is likely to win -- a slight improvement since mid-January, but similar to measures in early January and in 2006.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney remains far ahead of the rest of the Republican presidential field in Iowa, but the more interesting news is that Arkansas' Mike Huckabee has advanced to second place now with 15% support, passing former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at 11% and former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, who clocks in at 10% support. A previous Zogby poll on the Democratic side showed Hillary Clinton clinging to a tenuous lead, with 28% support, down from 30% in an August Zogby telephone poll. Barack Obama of Illinois, having made a serious campaign blitz of Iowa in recent months, is showing some progress at 25%
Just 31% of Americans approve of the Democrats' job performance, down 10 points since February. But despite these tepid ratings, Pew says most Americans (54%) say that they are happy that the Democrats won control of Congress in last year's elections.
See full WNBC/Marist Poll article
Following last Tuesday’s Democratic debate (October 30), Hillary Clinton has a commanding, though diminished, lead nationwide against her rivals for the Democratic nomination.
See full Quinnipiac University Polling article
By a 57 - 38 percent margin, American voters feel it is the government's responsibility to make sure everyone in the U.S. has adequate health care. Among all the Republican and Democratic candidates for president, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is placing the biggest emphasis on health care issues, 53 percent of American voters say.