(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many Democratic Party supporters in the United States believe Hillary Rodham Clinton should become their presidential nominee in 2008, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 46 per cent of respondents would vote for the New York senator in a primary.

Illinois senator Barack Obama is second with 24 per cent, followed by former North Carolina senator John Edwards with 11 per cent. Support is lower for New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich, Delaware senator Joe Biden, and Connecticut senator Chris Dodd.

On Oct. 20, Edwards criticized the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during the Bill Clinton administration, saying, "In the 1990s, we didn’t get universal health care, which we needed. We got the NAFTA, which we didn’t need. I think we’ve been asking the wrong questions about these proposed trade deals. The question seems to have been, ‘Is this trade deal good for the profits of big multinational corporations?’"

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. 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

Democratic Presidential Primary Contenders

Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with approximately 1,300 likely Democratic primary voters, conducted from Oct. 15 to Oct. 21, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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