GOP voters split over Romney, Santorum, new poll shows
50 replies, posted
[quote](CNN) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has erased a 10-point deficit against rival Rick Santorum among registered Republicans in the race for the GOP nomination, according to a new Gallup poll released Monday on the eve of the Michigan and Arizona primaries.
In the new Gallup tracking poll, 31% of respondents said they would support Romney and 26% said they favored Santorum, reversing a 36% to 26% advantage for the former Pennsylvania senator last week.
But another nationwide poll released Monday -- addressing likely GOP voters nationwide -- suggests the candidates are just about evenly split between presidential Santorum and Romney.
The Politico/George Washington University Battleground Poll gives Santorum the support of 36% of likely GOP voters, while the former Massachusetts governor gets 34% -- within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The poll also indicates that independent voters, whose support will be crucial in the general election, have a more favorable view of Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania.
According to the poll, 40% of independent voters hold a favorable view of Santorum while 33% hold Romney in a positive light.
Santorum and Romney both kept their focus Monday on Michigan, which along with Arizona also holds a primary on Tuesday. But it is Michigan --considered Romney's home turf -- that has attracted the most attention.
If Romney wins the state where his father was governor, he would seem likely to cement his status as the lone front-runner and presumptive nominee. A Santorum victory would raise further questions about Romney's ability to attract broad conservative support in later primaries or against Obama in November's general election.
Santorum scheduled events in Livonia, Lansing and Kalamazoo on Monday, while Romney will be in Rockford, Albion and Royal Oak.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian champion who has a devoted but limited support base among mostly young followers, was also campaigning in Michigan on Monday, with events in Detroit, East Lansing and Dearborn.
Paul, whose support in the Gallup tracking poll held steady at 11%, has waged a strategic campaign aimed at accumulating delegates so he can assert influence at the Republican convention in August.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was alone in skipping Michigan on Monday. He is banking on a strong Super Tuesday performance in the Southern states of Georgia, which represented in Congress, and neighboring Tennessee to revitalize his flagging campaign.
Gingrich, whose support among registered Republicans in the Gallup poll grew 2 percentage points to 15% in the last week, was scheduled to campaign in Tennessee on Monday.
Santorum and Gingrich are vying to be the main conservative challenger against the more moderate Romney.
In his push for conservative support, Gingrich warned Sunday in remarks at a Georgia church that liberal elitism is threatening the country.
"You have elites in the bureaucracy, elites in the judgeship, frankly elites in the news media, elites in the academic world, and elites in politics -- and they would all like to impose on us an America that none of us believe in," Gingrich said.
So far, Romney's advantage in money and organization have helped him fend off challenges from a succession of Republican contenders.
On Sunday, Romney surrogates appeared on talk shows to boost his chances ahead of the upcoming contests.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a strong Romney backer, declared on the CBS program "Face the Nation" that "Rick Santorum's not going to be the nominee," while Sen. John McCain of Arizona said on CNN's "State of the Union" that he is "confident Mitt will do well on Tuesday night in Arizona and in Michigan, and hopefully that will move this process forward so we can concentrate on the real adversary."
Another veteran Senate Republican, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, also said on the CNN program that he expects Romney to win both states Tuesday.
While Graham has yet to endorse a candidate, he praised Romney for "getting better and better" throughout the campaign season.
Romney made a rare talk show appearance on "Fox News Sunday" in which he parried questions about what critics call his inability as a wealthy businessman to connect with working-class Americans such as tea party conservatives.
Last week, Romney's comment that his family owns several cars kept at different residences, including two Cadillacs driven by his wife, came under media scrutiny.
"You know, I can't be perfect. I just am who I am," Romney said on the Fox program, later adding: "If people think that there is something wrong with being successful in America, then they better vote for the other guy, because I've been extraordinarily successful and I want to use that success and that know-how to help the American people."
Romney also pushed back against critics of his opposition to the government bailout of the auto industry when the recession hit in 2008. Democrats and their labor union supporters have highlighted the Romney stance in Michigan, saying he would have turned his back on workers in a time of need.
To Romney, the issue was about government fiscal intervention in a market-driven industry.
"You've seen all sorts of businesses go in bankruptcy. And they come out and are stronger," Romney said on Fox. "This is not the first time that an industry or a company has been in trouble."
He said he opposed "writing checks" when auto industry leaders asked for help, instead of forcing them into what he called a managed bankruptcy and then helping them recover.
"After bankruptcy, that was the time to give them the financial support, the guarantees to provide the help to get them out of bankruptcy," Romney added. "That's the way it would have been done best."
However, Romney didn't directly respond when asked if his plan would have forced the automakers into a more severe form of bankruptcy that would have resulted in greater job losses and a more difficult recovery.
Santorum went after Romney on the auto bailout issue, saying the former Massachusetts governor was ideologically inconsistent because he had supported the government bailout of Wall Street firms but opposed the help for the auto industry.
"Mitt Romney supported his friends on Wall Street and then turned his back on the people of Detroit," Santorum said on the ABC program "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." "Now I say turned his back because he supports the concept of bailouts. I don't. And that's the difference between the two approaches."
Santorum also continued to wrestle with the increased attention to his campaign since he surged to the top of polls in recent weeks following his sweep of contests in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado earlier this month.
In his appearances on ABC and NBC, he was questioned about comments last week that challenged Obama's push for students to attend college and the call more than 50 years ago by former President John F. Kennedy -- the nation's first Roman Catholic president -- for an absolute separation of church and state.
On ABC, Santorum said the Kennedy speech -- which sought to ease concerns about his faith interfering with his ability to govern -- made him sick.
"What kind of country do we live that says only people of non-faith can come into the public square and make their case?" Santorum said in seeking to link his interpretation of the Kennedy speech with his criticism of the Obama administration for what he calls impeding on religious freedom.
"That makes me throw up and it should make every American who has seen from the president, someone who is now trying to tell people of faith that you will do what the government says, we are going to impose our values on you," Santorum said, later adding that imposition of government values would be "the next logical step when people of faith, at least according to John Kennedy, have no role in the public square."
On higher education, Santorum was asked about calling Obama a snob for advocating that all American students go to college if possible.
After first responding on ABC that not everyone wants or needs a college education to succeed, noting that a trade school or a music career are examples of alternative options, Santorum characterized the majority of U.S. colleges and universities as liberal institutions that are biased against conservative thinkers and religious believers.
"We have some real problems at our college campuses with political correctness, with an ideology that is forced upon people who, you know, who may not agree with the politically correct left doctrine," Santorum said. "And one of the things that I've spoken out on and will continue to speak out is to make sure that conservative and more mainstream, commonsense conservative and principles that have made this country great are reflected in our college courses and with college professors. And at many, many, and I would argue most institutions in this country, that simply isn't the case."
Monday's Politico/George Washington University Battleground Poll indicated that Obama leads Santorum and Romney in hypothetical general election matchups.
The poll has Obama beating Romney 53% to 43%, and Santorum 53% to 42%. Matched up against a generic GOP opponent in the general election -- an unnamed candidate who has not suffered negative attacks -- Obama leads 50% to 45%. That's up from a dead heat in November.[/quote]
Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/27/politics/campaign-wrap/index.html?hpt=hp_t2[/url]
26% in support for santorum? even 1% would surprise me damn
i want herman cain to return :(
he was way funnier and less offensive by far
...The fuck?
Romneytorum: An emotionless psychopath with no restraint in smothering you in his frothy mixture of fecal matter and lube.
[QUOTE=overpain;34894519]...The fuck?[/QUOTE]
America
Oh god if I was american I'd die from shame. Having such idiots in any kind of power is just beyond stupid.
Why is my country so stupid? :(
[QUOTE=DSG;34895194]Why is my country so stupid? :([/QUOTE]
Because all the smart people are too apathetic/too afraid to let their voices be heard over the loudmouthed idiots.
[QUOTE=Marcolade;34895582]Because all the smart people are too apathetic/too afraid to let their voices be heard over the loudmouthed idiots.[/QUOTE]
Because all the smart people are pouring money into candidates so they can keep their billions
[QUOTE=Marcolade;34895582]Because all the smart people are too apathetic/too afraid to let their voices be heard over the loudmouthed idiots.[/QUOTE]
Either that or the idiots get the most airtime.
[QUOTE=DSG;34895194]Why is my country so stupid? :([/QUOTE]
[URL="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/partisan_trends"]36% of Americans are Republican.[/URL] 26% of those people are for Santorum. That means of the 112 million people in the GOP, that's 29 million for Santorum. A meager 9.4% of the country. Even assuming the entire third of the country that is Republican is retarded, that means we non-retarded folks should outnumber them.
Problem isn't the idiots, it's the fact that [URL="http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/216368/20110919/us-elections-presidential-mid-term-voter-apathy-eligible.htm"]nobody cares enough to fight them.[/URL]
[QUOTE]Lower turnout amongst many poorer citizens and some demographic groups has helped Republicans.
U.S. population dynamics give the Democrats a numerical edge, but these populations generally don’t like to participate in elections.
The Republican Party has a much easier time mobilizing its core constituents who vote regularly (e.g. social conservatives, Evangelicals, Tea Party members, etc.).[/QUOTE]
Get off your ass and convince some people to vote.
[QUOTE=Xenocidebot;34895705]
Get off your ass and convince some people to vote.[/QUOTE]
I tell people to vote for Ron Paul any chance I get :v:
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;34895747]I tell people to vote for Ron Paul any chance I get :v:[/QUOTE]
Ron Paul is the only candidate worth casting a vote for, IMO.
Republicans!
Stop making me post this!
[video=youtube;4dHqvcgEbs0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dHqvcgEbs0[/video]
[url]http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/27/michigan-forecast-update-romneys-lead-looks-more-tenuous/[/url]
Looks like Michigan is going down to the wire
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;34895747]I tell people to vote for Ron Paul any chance I get :v:[/QUOTE]
yes please i can't wait to return to the gold standard, such a fantastic idea
[QUOTE=Turnips5;34896219]yes please i can't wait to return to the gold standard, such a fantastic idea[/QUOTE]
how would you react if he said he told people to vote for Romney instead?
[QUOTE=Hidole555;34896316]how would you react if he said he told people to vote for Romney instead?[/QUOTE]
i'd express further disappointment
[editline]27th February 2012[/editline]
e. at not being able to slap him through my monitor
It'll be nice to see Obama staying in house for another 4 years.
[QUOTE=BANNED USER;34897148]It'll be nice to see Obama staying in house for another 4 years.[/QUOTE]
The Obama is only candidate i even moderatively like
[QUOTE=zombini;34895793]Ron Paul is the only candidate worth casting a vote for, IMO.[/QUOTE]
But the odds are, he won't be getting the nomination.
[QUOTE=Stonecycle;34897203]But the odds are, he won't be getting the nomination.[/QUOTE]
Not with delegates and not with ballot support. He's a terrible candidate.
[QUOTE=BANNED USER;34897148]It'll be nice to see Obama staying in house for another 4 years.[/QUOTE]
I heard on the radio that Obama wants to drive the country into the ground so when we're at our lowest, he can rise up and be the king of America.
True story.
Also, conservative radio is a joke
[QUOTE=znk666;34894560]America[/QUOTE]
I am fairly sure that 3,000 of those posts of yours are these shitty attempts to insult Americans, just stop.
[editline]27th February 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=zombini;34895793]Ron Paul is the only candidate worth casting a vote for, IMO.[/QUOTE]
Says the guy who knows nothing about who he is or what he stands for.
A GOP candidate might beat Obama. The GOP may not like their candidates, but they sure don't like Obama. Obama unites the GOP.
[QUOTE=The Baconator;34898477]A GOP candidate might beat Obama. The GOP may not like their candidates, but they sure don't like Obama. Obama unites the GOP.[/QUOTE]
Obama's done more for the GOP than the GOP has done for itself.
according to the USA Today [url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-02-23/swing-states-health-care-obama/53260222/1]Rick Santorum would beat out Obama[/url] If the election was today.
Disturbing
[QUOTE=ThePinkPanzer;34898246]
Says the guy who knows nothing about who he is or what he stands for.[/QUOTE]
Judging by the ignorance of your reply I'd say the same about you.
I'll vote for Ron Paul, even though I seriously disagree with him on his views of religion, abortion, and his poor excuse he gave regarding his newsletters.
The main reason people here bash him is because of "freemarket would let corps run rampant without regulation", but never seem to understand that under Ron Paul's free-market philosophy, the regulations would be way tougher -- and equal. Meaning when a corporation fucks up big time, they don't get an interest free loan from the federal reserve right away, and they have to go through a type of bankruptcy that won't allow their company to totally collapse, but it would certainly teach them their lesson. (google "Government-Guided Bankruptcy")
In our current system, corporations lobby for bad regulation that only helps them (the bigger multi-national conglomerates), to make it harder for their smaller competitors to compete with them. Aka Apple suing more people than they already do if they get more loopholes passed that qualify them for some kind of tax breaks or regulation exception or whatever. Under a true free market, this would not happen and the ground would finally be level.
The other half bash him for wanting silver and gold as legal tender, when in reality he just wants competing currencies and other solutions that would be an alternative to our shitty dollar (goes down daily). Do your own research next time, I'm not here to give you an Austrian economics lesson.
Hell, I'd vote for him just to get a real audit of the Federal Reserve, the "partial audit" (Ron Paul wrote it) that congress [B]barely[/B] passed, and only made it through because people caught on and called their congresspeople like they did during SOPA, showed us $16 TRILLION in interest-free loans to European/US/Korean banks. I want to know why Obama and the rest of these assholes keep trying to ignore things like this and instead pick a fight over whose going to provide contraception or not.
He donates most of his pay back to the US government, he wants to get rid of executive powers so the presidents can't abuse things like signing statements and so-forth. He doesn't use a teleprompter, he's not part of the elite (worth 1.9m total, most of that in stocks of gold companies that he bought long ago)
Voting Obama is only okay if Romney/Frothy Santorum win the nod, in my honest opinion. People who just dismiss Ron Paul as a closeted racist are clearly diluted and confused.
edit: let it be known that I absolutely hate theist bible thumping republicans, but I must say this guy is genuine and not a scumbag.
[editline]27th February 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=Lambeth;34898537]according to the USA Today [url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-02-23/swing-states-health-care-obama/53260222/1]Rick Santorum would beat out Obama[/url] If the election was today.
Disturbing[/QUOTE]
challenge accepted
[url]http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/27/poll-obama-holds-double-digit-leads-over-romney-and-santorum/?hpt=hp_t2]obama-holds-double-digit-leads-over-romney-and-santorum[/url]
Breaking News, America is doomed!
[QUOTE=Stick it in her pooper;34898552] showed us $16 TRILLION in interest-free loans to European/US/Korean banks. I want to know why Obama and the rest of these assholes keep trying to ignore things like this and instead pick a fight over whose going to provide contraception or not.
[/QUOTE]
If you're talking about the Bailouts those were Bush. And the republicans are really the only ones who care about that contraception crap.
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