January 26, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Hillary Rodham Clinton is still the frontrunner in the national race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in the United States, according to a poll by Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times. 42 per cent of respondents would vote for the New York senator in a primary.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Hillary Rodham Clinton is still the frontrunner in the national race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in the United States, according to a poll by Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times. 42 per cent of respondents would vote for the New York senator in a primary.

Illinois senator Barack Obama is second with 33 per cent, followed by former North Carolina senator John Edwards with 11 per cent, and Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich with one per cent.

After the first four Democratic presidential caucuses and primaries have been held, Rodham Clinton has secured the support of 210 pledged delegates and super-delegates, followed by Obama with 123, Edwards with 52, and Kucinich with one.

Yesterday, Massachusetts senator and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry expressed dismay at the behaviour of former U.S. president Bill Clinton, saying, "I think you had an abuse of the truth, is what happened. (...) I mean, being an ex-president does not give you license to abuse the truth, and I think that over the last days it’s been over the top. I think it’s very unfortunate, but I think the voters can see through that. When somebody’s coming on strong and they are growing, people get a little frantic, and I think people have seen this sort of franticness in the air, if you will."

In American elections, candidates require 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the White House. In November 2004, Republican George W. Bush earned a second term after securing 286 electoral votes from 31 states. Kerry received 252 electoral votes from 19 states and the District of Columbia.

Bush is ineligible for a third term in office. The presidential election is scheduled for Nov. 4.

Polling Data

If the Democratic primary or caucus for president were being held in your state today and the candidates were (the following), for whom would you vote?

	Jan. 2008	Dec. 2007	Oct. 2007
Hillary Rodham Clinton	42%	45%	48%
Barack Obama	33%	21%	17%
John Edwards	11%	11%	13%
Dennis Kucinich	1%	1%	1%
Other	1%	--	--
Joe Biden	n.a.	3%	2%
Bill Richardson	n.a.	3%	2%
Chris Dodd	n.a.	1%	--
Someone else / Don’t know	12%	15%	15%

Source: Bloomberg / Los Angeles Times
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 532 Democratic primary voters, conducted from Jan. 18 to Jan. 22, 2008. Margin of error is 4 per cent.