• Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Newt Gingrich,  Polling,  President 2012,  Ron Paul,  Rudy Giuliani,  Sarah Palin,  Tim Pawlenty

    President 2012 New Hampshire GOP Poll Watch: Michele Bachmann Now in Second Place to Mitt Romney

    According to the latest Suffolk University Poll.

    While former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney remains a front-runner in New Hampshire, Michele Bachmann climbed 8 points since May, to 11 percent, according to a Suffolk University/7NEWS (WHDH TV) poll of likely voters in New Hampshire’s GOP presidential primary.

    Bachmann’s gain was more than that of any other candidate. Romney, with 36 percent support, gained 1 point since Suffolk University’s last Granite State poll was released nearly two months ago.

    GOP Primary election:

    • Mitt Romney – 36%
    • Michele Bachmann – 11%
    • Ron Paul – 8%
    • Rudy Giuliani – 5%
    • Sarah Paln – 4%
    • Jon Huntsman – 4%
    • Tim Pawlenty – 2%
    • Newt Gingrich – 2%

    Michele Bachmann distinguished herself in he Manchester, New Hampshire debate a few weeks ago and it is paying her dividends in the polls.

    Among those who watched the Republican Presidential debate in Manchester earlier this month, 33 percent said Romney won the debate, while 31 percent gave the win to Bachmann.

  • California,  Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Rudy Giuliani,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012 California GOP Poll Watch: Romney 25% Giuliani 17% Palin 10% Paul 7%

    According to the latest Field Poll.

    California Republicans favor presidential candidate Mitt Romney by a comfortable margin over other Republicans, a Field Poll released today shows.

    When stacked up against 11 other announced or potential Republican candidates, Romney is the first choice of an eye-catching 25 percent of GOP voters in the state. If former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is excluded, Romney’s share jumps to 30 percent.

    “He’s got a commanding lead in the early going,” pollster Mark DiCamillo said. “Romney has the formula of both being well-known and being positively perceived.”

    Though the former Massachusetts governor announced his formal candidacy only June 2, Romney has long been beating the bushes for support. He spent $107 million seeking the 2008 Republican nomination, including $8.4 million that he raised from California donors.

    The Los Angeles region was the third-leading source of campaign donations for Romney’s 2008 campaign, behind the Boston and Salt Lake City areas, figures compiled by the Center for

    Responsive Politics show.

    “He’s just a well-known figure,” DiCamillo noted. “He has tremendous name (identification), and that converts to preferences.”

    Romney is viewed favorably by 56 percent of California Republicans and unfavorably by only 25 percent.

    Perhaps this polling is why Mayor Rudy Giuliani continues to flirt with getting into the race.

    But, if Rudy does not, Mitt Romney looks like a winner in California although Michele Bachmann who is a late entrant and is not known near as much – 42% have no impression of her candidacy may play here; as may Texas Governor Rick Perry, if he decides to run.

  • Chris Christie,  President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Rudy Giuliani

    President 2012: Rudy Giuliani to Meet with Chris Christie and Rick Perry Today

    Rudy Giuliani when he endorsed soon to be elected New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in 2009

    Well, Rudy endorsed Chris Christie when he ran for New Jersey Governor and Texas Governor Rick Perry endorsed Rudy in 2008 when Giuliani ran for President. So, hence the meetings since Rudy continues to show interest in a 2012 Presidential race.

    Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie, two former federal prosecutors and two similar political models, are set to have lunch Wednesday, sources confirmed.

    The meeting will be on the heels of a Giuliani meeting with Rick Perry. Both men are considering a presidential run.

    Christie has said repeatedly that he isn’t.

    But the Giuliani and Christie meeting comes at a time when the former mayor has said he is seriously looking at his political future, and as some national Republicans are still hoping to lure the New Jersey governor into the race.

    I would love to be a fly on the wall during these meetings.

    But, my guess is Rudy is lining up support should Sarah Palin decide to throw her hat in the ring and divide the conservative vote in the GOP primaries. Otherwise, Rudy will be on board with either Perry or Christie should one of them decide to run and Rudy doesn’t.

    Rudy would go on the stump in Florida for Rick Perry and would definitely hurt Mitt Romney there. And, could deliver a goodly number of East Coast and California GOP delegates for the Texas Governor.

    Giuliani will make a terrific Attorney General or Vice President.

  • Chris Christie,  Newt Gingrich,  President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Rudy Giuliani

    President 2012: South Carolina Pols To Draft Chris Christie?

    Some South Carolina POLS will try to persuade the New Jersey Governor.

    Multiple South Carolina state representatives plan on holding a news conference next week to urge New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to enter the presidential race.

    Republican state Rep. Kris Crawford told POLITICO the goal was to entice a candidate capable of going “toe to toe with the Obama political machine,” and at least a few state lawmakers think Christie fits the bill.

    Crawford and state Rep. Phyllis Henderson — who previously told Roll Call she hoped to spark a Christie draft — have scheduled a “Draft Chris Christie for President” event from the statehouse steps at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Crawford said he and Henderson are taking point for the event, but hope that between half a dozen and a dozen legislators show up.

    “Having had conversations on the floor for the last two months, I know that there’s interest out there,” Crawford said. “Here’s a guy who’s willing to have the hard conversation, speak the truth and take on what is, frankly, going to be a really tough political operation on the Democratic side.”

    Yesterday it was Rudy Giuliani, today it is Texas Governor Rick Perry, next week it is Chris Christie.

    The GOP Presidential field is growing and getting a little crowded, although the race probably lost one today in Newt Gingrich.

  • Newt Gingrich,  President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Rudy Giuliani

    President 2012: Newt Gingrich’s Campaign Staff Resigns En Masse – Going Over to Rick Perry?

    Probably so, as I am tweeted the name and Hot Air seems to confirm.

    But, first the story.

    Newt Gingrich’s top staff quit en masse Thursday, throwing into question whether his already troubled presidential campaign can continue.

    Two sources close to the situation confirmed that campaign manager Rob Johnson, strategists Sam Dawson and Dave Carney, spokesman Rick Tyler, and consultants Katon Dawson in South Carolina and Craig Schoenfeld in Iowa have all quit to protest what one called a “different vision” for the campaign.

    The sources said Gingrich was staying in the race.

    The mass resignation was, one source said, “a team decision.”

    “We just had a different direction in which we wanted to take the campaign,” said a second source.

    Gingrich was intent on using technology and standing out at debates to get traction while his advisers believed he needed to run a campaign that incorporated both traditional, grassroots techniques as well as new ideas.

    One official said the last straw came when Gingrich went forward with taking a long-planned cruise with his wife last week in the Greek isles.

    After his bumpy start, rumors began to circulate in the political community the former House speaker’s days as a candidate were numbered. But the collective decision by his high command to quit makes it likely that his demise will be hastened.

    Let’s see. Rudy Giuliani is thinking he is in and now Texas Governor Rick Perry. What does that say about the race?

    It says that POLS think Obama is vulnerable.

  • Herman Cain,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rudy Giuliani,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Romney 23% Giuliani 13% Palin 12% Cain 7% Gingrich 7%

    According to the latest Fox News Poll.

    Qualified Vs. Not Qualified to be President:

    • Mitt Romney –  68% Vs. 21%
    • Newt Gingrich – 58% Vs. 33%
    • Tim Pawlenty – 43% Vs. 25%
    • Sarah Palin – 41% Vs. 56% (With 42% Saying Not At All)
    • Herman Cain – 32% Vs. 24%

    GOP Primary Election:

    • Romney – 23%
    • Giuliani – 13%
    • Palin – 12%
    • Cain – 7%
    • Gingrich – 7%
    • Pawlenty – 5%
    • Paul – 5%
    • Bachmann – 4%
    • Santorum – 4%

    General Election:

    • Obama – 47% Vs. Giuliani – 43%
    • Obama – 48% Vs. Romney – 41%
    • Obama – 56% Vs. Palin – 35%
    • Obama – 53% Vs. Gingrich – 34%
    • Obama – 50% Vs. Pawlenty – 32%
    • Obama – 49% Vs. Christie – 34%

    Job Approval Vs. Disapproval:

    • President Barack Obama – 48% Vs. 43%

    The entire poll is here.

    The president’s job rating has returned to pre-bin Laden raid levels, according to a Fox News poll released Wednesday.  Currently 48 percent of American voters approve of the job Barack Obama is doing and 43 percent disapprove.  Last month, after the death of Usama bin Laden, it was much more positive:  55 approved and 41 percent disapproved (May 2011). Prior to the raid the president’s rating was split evenly 47-47 (April 2011). 

    The poll finds similar mixed views on the president’s re-election.  Nearly half of voters — 49 percent — would vote for someone else rather than re-elect President Obama if the 2012 election were held today.  Forty-four percent would vote to give him a second term.  These results are essentially unchanged from January, the last time this question was asked, when 51 percent said someone else, and 42 percent said re-elect Obama.

    Among the president’s party faithful, 82 percent would re-elect him.  That’s about the same as the 79 percent of Democrats who said so in January, though down a bit from 87 percent at the beginning of Obama’s term (April 2009).

  • President 2012,  Rudy Giuliani,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012: Bill Kristol Says Rudy Giuliani is Running

    *****Update from original post******

    I’m told by two reliable sources that Rudy Giuliani intends to run for the GOP nomination for president in 2012. He may throw his hat in the ring soon.

    Rudy’s theory of the race: In the fall of 2007, he decided he couldn’t compete with both Mitt Romney and John McCain in New Hampshire, and disastrously decided to try to pull back there and pitch his tent in Florida. This year, he’ll commit everything to New Hampshire, where he thinks he has a good shot at beating Romney—whom he criticized there earlier this week. He then thinks he can beat whichever more socially conservative candidate(s) is left by winning what are still likely to be winner-take-all primaries in big states like California, New York, and New Jersey.

    I will be making some calls. Stay tuned…..

    Rudy Giuliani June 5, 2011

    Former New Yory City mayor, Rudy Giuliani talks about how first responders saved thousands of lives at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 during the N.J. Hall of Fame during the induction ceremony at New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J., Sunday, June 5, 2011

    Rudy has been saying this over and over but does anyone REALLY believe him?

    Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said today he is pondering whether to run again for the presidency and will decide by the end of summer.

    If he does run, he said, he would “do it the right way” this time and spend more time on person-to-person campaigning in New Hampshire.

    In 2008, Giuliani led in the polls at various times and was sometimes described as the front-runner. But he made little effort in first-caucus state of Iowa, eventually pulled most of his advertising out of the first-primary state New Hampshire, and focused on Florida, where his campaign collapsed.

    Giuliani placed fourth in the 2008 New Hampshire primary after doing little campaigning here. He vowed to run differently if he decides to jump into the 2012 race.

    “The impression was we didn”t spend a lot of time here because we didn”t do it the right way,” Giuliani said. “We were spending so much time trying to raise money that we forgot about the politics.”

    This time, Giuliani pledged to run a more retail-style campaign. “Much more talking to people, meeting with them, getting their ideas,” Giuliani said.

    This was his seventh visit to New Hampshire in a year.

    No bat signal from Gotham yet. My bet Rudy is waiting for Palin to jump in or not. If Sarah is IN, so is Rudy.

    The key quote:

    “I would like to see a Republican defeat President Obama,” Giuliani said. “If I thought someone else had a better chance of doing that than me, I”d probably end up supporting that person. If I thought I had the best chance, I’d be more inclined to do it.”

  • President 2012,  Rudy Giuliani,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012: Rudy Giuliani AGAIN Says He Is Considering Presidential Race

    Rudy Giuliani June 5, 2011

    Former New Yory City mayor, Rudy Giuliani talks about how first responders saved thousands of lives at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 during the N.J. Hall of Fame during the induction ceremony at New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J., Sunday, June 5, 2011

    Rudy has been saying this over and over but does anyone REALLY believe him?

    Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said today he is pondering whether to run again for the presidency and will decide by the end of summer.

    If he does run, he said, he would “do it the right way” this time and spend more time on person-to-person campaigning in New Hampshire.

    In 2008, Giuliani led in the polls at various times and was sometimes described as the front-runner. But he made little effort in first-caucus state of Iowa, eventually pulled most of his advertising out of the first-primary state New Hampshire, and focused on Florida, where his campaign collapsed.

    Giuliani placed fourth in the 2008 New Hampshire primary after doing little campaigning here. He vowed to run differently if he decides to jump into the 2012 race.

    “The impression was we didn”t spend a lot of time here because we didn”t do it the right way,” Giuliani said. “We were spending so much time trying to raise money that we forgot about the politics.”

    This time, Giuliani pledged to run a more retail-style campaign. “Much more talking to people, meeting with them, getting their ideas,” Giuliani said.

    This was his seventh visit to New Hampshire in a year.

    No bat signal from Gotham yet. My bet Rudy is waiting for Palin to jump in or not. If Sarah is IN, so is Rudy.

    The key quote:

    “I would like to see a Republican defeat President Obama,” Giuliani said. “If I thought someone else had a better chance of doing that than me, I”d probably end up supporting that person. If I thought I had the best chance, I’d be more inclined to do it.”

  • Herman Cain,  Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Newt Gingrich,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rudy Giuliani,  Sarah Palin,  Tim Pawlenty

    President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney 49% Vs. Obama 46%



    According to the latest Washington Post-ABC News Poll.

    The public opinion boost President Obama received after the killing of Osama bin Laden has dissipated, and Americans’ disapproval of how he is handling the nation’s economy and the deficit has reached new highs, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

    The survey portrays a broadly pessimistic mood in the country this spring as higher gasoline prices, sliding home values and a disappointing employment picture have raised fresh concerns about the pace of the economic recovery.

    By 2 to 1, Americans say the country is pretty seriously on the wrong track, and nine in 10 continue to rate the economy in negative terms. Nearly six in 10 say the economy has not started to recover, regardless of what official statistics may say, and most of those who say it has improved rate the recovery as weak.

    New Post-ABC numbers show Obama leading five of six potential Republican presidential rivals tested in the poll. But he is in a dead heat with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who formally announced his 2012 candidacy last week, making jobs and the economy the central issues in his campaign.

    Again, this is a national poll, so take it with a grain of salt. We all know that it is the election in key battleground states that really matter.

    Mitt Romney is leading President Obama, 49% to 46% among registered voters but it is within the margin of error, so it is not statistically relevant, although it does point out Obama’s vulnerability. The other GOP candidates do not fair as well as Mitt Romney (see the graphic above).

    GOP Primary election:

    • Romney – 21% (16%, 4/172011)
    • Palin – 17% (5%)
    • Giuliani – 8% (NA)
    • Gingrich – 6% (2%)
    • Paul – 6% (2%)
    • Pawlenty – 4% (1%)
    • Cain – 4% (NA)
    • Bachmann – 3% (1%)
    • None of the above – 5% (12%)

    Well, Mitt Romney is polling the best against Obama but it is uncertain as to whether he can win in the GOP nomination race. It is also uncertain whether Sarah Palin or Rudy Giuliani will run.

    My best guess, is that should Sarah Palin decide to roll the dice and run, that Rudy Giuliani will also enter the race. Rudy will count on the divisiveness of a Romney Vs. Palin contest, while he easily wins  East and West Coast Republican primary elections and delegates. He might also figure a deal with Romney to defeat Palin. A wild card in all of this will be Michele Bachmann who will run strong in the Iowa Caucus and may gather some momentum going into South Carolina.

    So, what does this all mean?

    The economy is weak, voters do not think it is improving, Obama is in trouble and the GOP Presidential field while hopeful, is uncertain, with no front runner.

    The entire poll is here.

  • President 2012,  Rudy Giuliani,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012: Rudy Giuliani Sets Late Summer Decision – Waiting for Sarah Palin?

    Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani, right, poses after autographing a sign for David Peterson at a Republican luncheon, Thursday, June 2, 2011, at Vito Marcello’s Italian Bistro in North Conway, N.H.

    Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will make a definitive decision on a Presidential run by late summer.

    After spending the day in New Hampshire, Rudy Giuliani says he has settled on a timeframe for making up his mind about entering the 2012 race.

    Late summer “seems like a natural period of time,” the former New York City mayor said in an interview with POLITICO from New Hampshire. “I think during the summer people don’t pay as much attention.”

    “I have the advantage of very high name-recognition,” he added, explaining his decision to wait.

    Waiting until Labor Day would also Giuliani time to see how the field shakes out, including the effect from the heavily-watched Ames Straw Poll in Iowa, generally seen as the first major test of organizational strength.

    Again, there has been NO Bat Signal from Gotham as of yet for former Rudy supporters to get ready. But, I am positive that Rudy will throw his hat in the ring if Sarah Palin runs.

    Sarah Palin will throw the race upside down and with Mitt Romney wounded over “RomneyCare,” who can the GOP Establishment support?

    Giuliani has a track record of decades of accomplishment and excellent name identification. He can beat Romney and Palin in East and West Coast GOP primary elections. He can win Florida.

    However, he will struggle in Iowa and South Carolina, but let Palin and Bachmann duel it out there. Romney won’t do well there either.

    So, what is a convenient starting point for Rudy? New Hampshire, of course. If Rudy can run second to Romney, but close – he has a shot.

    In the general election, Giuliani would be formidable against President Obama in the key battleground states of Ohio, Florida, Nevada and New Hampshire.

    Watch Sarah Palin, if she runs, then so does Rudy.