Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research

Field Wide Open Before 2008 U.S. Election

December 08, 2006

- No prospective candidates have emerged as clear favourites in the early stages of the 2008 United States electoral race, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 33 per cent of respondents cannot name a person they would like to see elected in the next presidential ballot.

Democratic New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is first on the list with 15 per cent, followed by Republican Arizona senator John McCain with 11 per cent, Democratic Illinois senator Barack Obama with six per cent, and Republican former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani with five per cent.

Among Republican respondents, McCain is first with 15 per cent, followed by Giuliani with 10 per cent. State secretary Condoleezza Rice, former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich and an unnamed Republican are tied with four per cent.

Among Democratic respondents, Rodham Clinton is first with 31 per cent, followed by Obama with 14 per cent, an unnamed Democrat with six per cent, and former North Carolina senator and 2004 vice-presidential nominee John Edwards with four per cent.

McCain is the most attractive candidate for independents with 16 per cent, followed by Rodham Clinton with 11 per cent, Obama with five per cent, and Giuliani and Edwards with three per cent each.

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

Thinking ahead to the election for president in 2008, who would you most like to see elected president?

All

Rep.

Ind.

Dem.

Hillary Rodham Clinton

15%

2%

11%

31%

John McCain

11%

15%

16%

3%

Barack Obama

6%

*

5%

14%

Rudy Giuliani

5%

10%

3%

1%

"A Democrat"

3%

*

2%

6%

John Edwards

2%

*

3%

4%

Condoleezza Rice

2%

4%

*

1%

Newt Gingrich

2%

4%

--

--

"A Republican

2%

4%

1%

--

Al Gore

2%

1%

2%

2%

Mitt Romney

1%

3%

1%

--

Joe Biden

1%

*

*

2%

John Kerry

1%

1%

1%

1%

Bill Frist

1%

1%

1%

--

Colin Powell

1%

1%

1%

*

Other

7%

7%

9%

5%

No one

5%

6%

7%

3%

No opinion

33%

37%

38%

25%

* = Less than 0.5%

Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,003 American adults, conducted from Nov. 27 to Nov. 29, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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