(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Following his appearance on NBC’s "The Tonight Show" to announce his bid for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, public support for actor and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson has increased in California, according to a poll by SurveyUSA. 28 per cent of respondents would vote for former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in the Golden State’s GOP primary, while 26 per cent would back Thompson.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Following his appearance on NBC’s "The Tonight Show" to announce his bid for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, public support for actor and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson has increased in California, according to a poll by SurveyUSA. 28 per cent of respondents would vote for former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in the Golden State’s GOP primary, while 26 per cent would back Thompson.
Support for Thompson increased by seven points since August. On Sept. 5, Thompson said he would join the presidential race during a taping of "The Tonight Show" in Burbank. In August 2003, former actor and current California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the start of his political career on the same television program.
Arizona senator John McCain is third on the list of GOP presidential hopefuls with 18 per cent, followed by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney with 14 per cent.
In the sample of Democratic Party supporters, New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is still first with 51 per cent, followed by Illinois senator Barack Obama with 27 per cent, and former North Carolina senator John Edwards with 14 per cent. The numbers for the three main Democratic contenders are unchanged since August.
The Republican and Democratic presidential primaries in California will take place on Feb. 5, 2008. In 2004, Massachusetts senator John Kerry won the Democratic California primary with 64 per cent of the vote. Incumbent president George W. Bush won the Republican contest unopposed.
Bush is ineligible for a third term in office. The next U.S. presidential election is scheduled for November 2008.
Polling Data
If the Republican Primary were today, would you vote for… Rudy Giuliani? John McCain? Mitt Romney? Fred Thompson? Or some other Republican?
|
Sept. 2007 |
Aug. 2007 |
Jul. 2007 |
|
|
Rudy Giuliani |
28% |
39% |
32% |
|
Fred Thompson |
26% |
19% |
19% |
|
John McCain |
18% |
16% |
19% |
|
Mitt Romney |
14% |
10% |
9% |
|
Newt Gingrich |
n.a. |
n.a. |
6% |
|
Other Republican |
10% |
11% |
9% |
|
Undecided |
3% |
4% |
7% |
If the Democratic Primary were today, would you vote for… Hillary Rodham Clinton? Barack Obama? John Edwards? Or some other Democrat?
|
Sept. 2007 |
Aug. 2007 |
Jul. 2007 |
|
|
Hillary Rodham Clinton |
51% |
51% |
49% |
|
Barack Obama |
27% |
27% |
24% |
|
John Edwards |
14% |
14% |
14% |
|
Other Democrat |
5% |
6% |
9% |
|
Undecided |
4% |
3% |
3% |
Source: SurveyUSA / KABC-TV
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 509 likely Republican primary voters in California, and 765 likely Democratic primary voters in California, conducted from Sept. 7 to Sept. 9, 2007. Margins of error are 4.4 per cent and 3.6 per cent.
