Fred Thompson's impending entry into the GOP presidential race is already starting to effect the national polls. This morning, the most recent Rasmussen tracking poll was released and it shows a wild swing from last week:
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) remains on top, but his support has slipped to 23%. That's down two points from a week ago and is his lowest level of support all year.
...
Thompson, who just formed an exploratory committee and is the newest face in the race, immediately moved into second place. With 17% support, he is within six points of the frontrunner. That's closer than anybody has been to Giuliani in 20 consecutive weekly polls.
...
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is the top choice for 15% of those likely to vote in a GOP primary. That's little changed from the last couple of weeks and keeps him a single-point ahead of Arizona Senator John McCain who is preferred by 14%.
McCain is now in fourth place and I think we can now say that McCain is not a frontrunner. Now I'm really curious about how his fundraising is going. McCain would still have been struggling even without the immigration amnesty plan, but now it's just the last straw.This is the first Rasmussen where Romney has lost ground since March when he was at 10%. Romney is still in third place but is now behind Thompson, and ahead of McCain.
Giuliani, as noted, is at the lowest point all year and is now where John McCain was near the end of January. Not a comfortable place to be at all.
And as for Fred, this was expected and he is still polling at a discount without having made his formal announcement. So far he matches up best against Hillary but still trails by 3 points. About the same level as John McCain but a little behind how Rudy matches up.
This is about what I expected would happen, just not this fast.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 3)
1. I think Fred Thompson will make a great President and Rudy Guliani would make a great Vice-President for him
charly s. at 11:50AM on Jun 5th 2007
2. The popularity of undeclared and little known candidate Thompson underlines the fact that the Republican nominee must be someone who can completely divorce himself from the policies and decisions of the current President( and most of the Party leaders..) This should prove a difficult task given that the party base has been and remains a strong supporter of Bush. How do you tell your "base" that they should keep the faith while telling the rest of the Country that you will be different (than Bush)? Might require a better "actor" than Thompson.
mro at 12:55PM on Jun 5th 2007
3. If Christians vote for Giuliani, they may as well burn their Bibles because they have denied many basic principles of their faith!
Aubygene Allen at 12:57PM on Jun 5th 2007
4. Freddy Boy, Rudy, ALL of them are idiots!!! And for the "millions" of people out there who would even think of voting for these , uh, men?, YOU are idiots as well.
Darby at 1:13PM on Jun 5th 2007
5. Hooray! Finally a real person instead of a bunch of guys and girls with canned speechs telling everyone what they want to hear through small sound bits. This guys a winner!!!
Bill at 2:22PM on Jun 5th 2007
6. Thompson / Huckabee. Non-Hoplophobics for office! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoplophobia and be sure to read the Psychobabblist's take on the matter, linked to the wiki site.
Lon Horiuchi at 2:53PM on Jun 5th 2007
7. I AM DELIGHTED THAT FRED THOMPSON MAY ENTER THE RACE. HE HAS THE STRENGTH TO MAKE THIS COUNTRY AND AMERICANS PROUD ONCE AGAIN. I'M NOT SAYING HE WILL SOLVE ALL OUR PROBLEMS, BUT HE HAS A CLEAR IDEA OF WHAT IS WRONG IN AMERICA AND I THINK HE CAN GET US HEADED IN THE RIGHT WAY. TOO MANY LAWS HAVE BEEN IGNORED IN THIS COUNTRY LATELY. NOW IS THE TIME FOR A NEW KIND OF LEADERSHIP, ONE OF LAW, ORDER AND GETTING THIS COUNTRY BACK ON THE SIDE OF AMERICANS. I BELEIVE HE HAS THE GUTS TO TAKE OVER THE WAR. WE HAVE HEARD THE OTHERS WITH THEIR LESS THAN WONDERFUL IDEAS, THEIR LACK OF CONVICTION ON THE ISSUES. I HAVE SEEN ONLY ONE OTHER CANDIDATE THAT IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK, TOM TANCREADO. HE OR FRED THOMPSON WOULD MAKE GREAT PRESIDENTS.
PAT at 2:59PM on Jun 5th 2007
8. While I think Giuliani did a good job as a mayor to fix many of the ills in NYC, what is good for NYC is not always good for the rest of the country. He is also way too liberal for this church-going Christian who happens to live in CT. I can and will only support either a conservative or right of center candidate.
Stuart at 4:51PM on Jun 5th 2007
9. Fred Thompson embodies that which every American voter has been looking for: an individual that talks and walks in a presidential manner just like we had with Ronald Reagan and Dwight Eisenhower. Fred will have to say or do something really stupid before he loses this groundswell of support from the American public who has been patiently waiting for their next GOP messiah.
Rich at 5:12PM on Jun 5th 2007
10. Fred Thompson may not win, then again he could.
This is going to be one hell of a race and the
winner had better know what is needed in regards to
the Earth, the life of the Earth, and the people of
the Earth. The current President is about as untrustworthly as a guat, and has proved it many times to boot. Time will tell if this race brings
out the right person for this Earth and the life on
it.
Carla Meyer at 5:23PM on Jun 5th 2007
11. Fred Thompson presidential, give me a break, how can you take anyone serious who dates the likes of Lorrie Morgan and then marrys someone 24 years his junior. We all know what thats about. Please, another actor in the white house is the last thing we need. And what exactly would his qualifications be!!!!!
djpaustin at 6:20PM on Jun 5th 2007
12. Run Fred Run!! I will take an actor like Fred in the White House any time over another Clinton. Our Country can't afford another Clinton!! With Fred, you don't have to wonder where he stands on the issues. Like him or not, at least he is honest!
mharvey743 at 6:35PM on Jun 5th 2007
13. Oh what I would give to see a Fred Thompson/Duncan Hunter ticket! GOP or DEM....would have to win California and the very popular Duncan Hunter can deliver the state to the GOP!
Les Gonzalez at 7:18PM on Jun 5th 2007
14. The christians need to keep in mind that there is a sepration of church and state in this counrty. Our whole country was based on the freedom of religion. Our President needs to be someone who understands this seperation, especially since our current President does not! Just because YOU are religious and conservative does not maen EVERYONE in this counrty is! Christians have a strong tendency to impose their beliefs on everyone else and look at things from only one side. ANY relegious extremist would make a terrible candidate! All of the people who think for themselves instead of letting the bible and the church decide everything for them need to get out and vote ofr an appropriate candidate! Learn a lesson from past mistakes (Bush) and DO NOT put another right wing extremist in office again! Hopefully we can take back our country from these right-wing fanatics and restore what is left of our country, save what rights are left for women and stop killing thousands of people with an unjustified war!
The winning ticket is Edwards/Obama...they will save our Counrty and the little that is left of Democracy.
Kim at 7:21PM on Jun 5th 2007
15. Fred Thompson is the only man with the same value system that I believe in and feel comfortable enough to vote for as President of the United States of America. The most God Blessed Nation ever, outside of Israel. Our longevity depends on a man's belief system and how they line up with God, not how many babies must die to give a woman her rights to same sex partners, which is totally unholy.This nation has to have a leader that will stand for the rights of Christian faith and for Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we will continue to see our country whither away and troublesome times become really times of horror and terror.
Dena at 8:30PM on Jun 5th 2007