February 27, 2006

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Scan) - New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton remains the favourite prospective presidential nominee for Democratic Party supporters in the United States, according to a poll by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion released by WNBC. 40 per cent of respondents would support Rodham Clinton in a primary ballot.

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton remains the favourite prospective presidential nominee for Democratic Party supporters in the United States, according to a poll by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion released by WNBC. 40 per cent of respondents would support Rodham Clinton in a primary ballot.

Former North Carolina senator John Edwards is second with 16 per cent, followed by Massachusetts senator John Kerry—the 2004 presidential nominee—with 15 per cent, and Delaware senator Joe Biden with seven per cent. Support is lower for retired general Wesley Clark, Indiana senator Evan Bayh, New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and former Virginia governor Mark Warner.

In a second list, which incorporates former vice-president Al Gore as a potential nominee, Rodham Clinton is first with 33 per cent, followed by Gore with 17 per cent, Edwards with 16 per cent, and Kerry with 11 per cent.

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, whom would you support if the candidates are:
(Asked of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents)

Option 1

	Feb. 2006	Oct. 2005
Hillary Rodham Clinton	40%	41%
John Edwards	16%	14%
John Kerry	15%	17%
Joe Biden	7%	5%
Wesley Clark	4%	3%
Evan Bayh	3%	2%
Bill Richardson	3%	n.a
Mark Warner	2%	1%
Tom Vilsack	--	1%
Undecided	10%	16%

Option 2

Hillary Rodham Clinton	33%
Al Gore	17%
John Edwards	16%
John Kerry	11%
Joe Biden	4%
Wesley Clark	3%
Evan Bayh	3%
Mark Warner	2%
Bill Richardson	2%
Undecided	9%

Source: Marist College Institute for Public Opinion / WNBC
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 931 registered American voters, including 335 Democrats, 271 Republicans, and 305 independents, conducted on Feb. 13 and Feb. 15, 2006. Margin of error for the subsample of Democrats and Democratic leaners is 5 per cent.