December 09, 2006

Abstract: - Hillary Rodham Clinton is still the main contender in the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2008, according to a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News. 33 per cent of respondents would vote for the New York senator in a presidential primary.

- Hillary Rodham Clinton is still the main contender in the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2008, according to a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News. 33 per cent of respondents would vote for the New York senator in a presidential primary.

Illinois senator Barack Obama is second on the list with 12 per cent, followed by former vice-president Al Gore with 11 per cent, former North Carolina senator John Edwards with eight per cent, and Massachusetts senator and 2004 presidential nominee John Kerry with six per cent. Support is lower for Indiana senator Evan Bayh, Delaware senator Joseph Biden, Iowa governor Tom Vilsack and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson.

Rodham Clinton—a former first lady—has served in the U.S. Senate since 2001. On Nov. 7, she earned a new six-year term in the upper house, defeating former Yonkers mayor John Spencer with 67 per cent of all cast ballots.

On Dec. 7, Rodham Clinton introduced a campaign geared at informing parents about the rating system of the video game industry, declaring, "We all share in the responsibility of making sure our children play age-appropriate video games."

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 next presidential election is scheduled for November 2008.

Polling Data

If the 2008 Democratic presidential primary were held today, for whom would you vote if the candidates were:

	Dec. 2006	Aug. 2006	Mar. 2006
Hillary Rodham Clinton	33%	32%	43%
Barack Obama	12%	n.a.	n.a.
Al Gore	11%	15%	12%
John Edwards	8%	9%	11%
John Kerry	6%	13%	10%
Evan Bayh	2%	2%	2%
Joseph Biden	2%	4%	4%
Tom Vilsack	2%	n.a.	n.a.
Wesley Clark	1%	4%	4%
Bill Richardson	1%	n.a.	n.a.
Other	3%	2%	--
Not sure	20%	18%	10%
Would not vote	--	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 Democratic voters is 5 per cent.