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Republicans 2008: Giuliani Leads McCain by Seven
- Rudy Giuliani remains the most popular presidential hopeful for Republican Party sympathizers in the United States, according to a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News. 30 per cent of respondents would vote for the former New York City mayor in a 2008 primary.
Arizona senator John McCain is second with 23 per cent, followed by former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich with nine per cent, and Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney with eight per cent. Support is lower for Kansas senator Sam Brownback, New York governor George Pataki, and California congressman Duncan Hunter.
Giuliani garnered national and international attention in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In 2000, McCain won seven Republican presidential primaries in the U.S., but retired from the race after eventual nominee George W. Bush became the frontrunner.
Yesterday, Giuliani expressed concern about the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, declaring, "I think it's unrealistic and impossible to predict that we'll be successful. That's why I don't like the idea of a timetable."
In American elections, candidates require 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the White House. In November 2004, Bush earned a second term after securing 286 electoral votes from 31 states. Democratic nominee John Kerry received 252 electoral votes from 19 states and the District of Columbia.
Bush is ineligible for a third term in office. The next presidential election is scheduled for November 2008.
Polling Data
If the 2008 Republican presidential primary were held today, for whom would you vote if the candidates were:
Dec. 2006 | Aug. 2006 | Mar. 2006 | |
Rudy Giuliani | 30% | 27% | 29% |
John McCain | 23% | 25% | 22% |
Newt Gingrich | 9% | 14% | 8% |
Mitt Romney | 8% | 5% | 4% |
Sam Brownback | 3% | n.a. | n.a. |
George Pataki | 2% | 4% | 2% |
Duncan Hunter | 1% | n.a. | n.a. |
Chuck Hagel | -- | 3% | 1% |
Other | 1% | 3% | 3% |
Not sure | 22% | 14% | 22% |
Would not vote | 2% | 1% | 1% |
Source: Opinion Dynamics / Fox News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 900 registered American voters, conducted on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6, 2006. Margin of error for the sample of registered Republican voters is 5 per cent.