Issue Watch
Track global public opinion on current issues.
- 2008: Race for the White House
- 2008: The U.S. Electoral College
- Abortion
- Africa
- Angela Merkel
- Death Penalty
- Economy and Globalization
- Environment
- European Union
- George W. Bush
- Global Warming
- Gordon Brown
- Hamas
- Immigration
- Iran
- Iraq War
- Kevin Rudd
- Latin America
- New Zealand Election 2008
- Nicolas Sarkozy
- North Korea
- Oil and Gas
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Silvio Berlusconi
- Stem Cell Research
- Stephen Harper
- Terrorism
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Democrats
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Republicans
- U.S. Election 2008: The Primaries
- Vladimir Putin
- Yasuo Fukuda
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Giuliani is Top Contender for U.S. Republicans
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many GOP supporters in the United States would like Rudy Giuliani to launch a White House bid, according to a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News. 29 per cent of Republican Party backers would vote for the former New York City mayor in a presidential primary.
Arizona senator John McCain is second with 22 per cent. Current state secretary Condoleezza Rice—who was backed by 18 per cent of respondents in September—was not included in the survey.
Support is lower for former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich, Tennessee senator Bill Frist, Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, Virginia senator George Allen, New York governor George Pataki and Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel.
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.
Next May, Giuliani is scheduled to visit Iowa—a key state for any prospective presidential hopeful—to participate in fundraising events for state senator Jeff Lamberti, who is running for the U.S. Congress, and congressman Jim Nussle, who is seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
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:
Mar. 2006 | Sept. 2005 | Jun. 2005 | |
Rudy Giuliani | 29% | 26% | 29% |
John McCain | 22% | 23% | 26% |
Newt Gingrich | 8% | 7% | 9% |
Bill Frist | 5% | 2% | 3% |
Mitt Romney | 4% | 3% | 2% |
George Allen | 3% | 2% | 3% |
George Pataki | 2% | n.a. | n.a. |
Chuck Hagel | 1% | n.a. | n.a. |
Condoleezza Rice | n.a. | 18% | -- |
Other | 3% | 2% | 2% |
Not sure | 22% | 17% | 23% |
Would not vote | 1% | 1% | 3% |
Source: Opinion Dynamics / Fox News
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 900 registered American voters, conducted on Mar. 14 and Mar. 15, 2005. Margin of error for the sample of registered Republican voters is 5 per cent.