Republicans See Thompson as Most Conservative Option, Romney Second
15 September 2007Republican voters continue to see Fred Thompson as the most politically conservative candidate in the GOP Presidential field. Mitt Romney is not too far behind while most Republican voters see John McCain and Rudy Giuliani as politically moderate.
A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 48% of Republican voters view Thompson as politically conservative while 42% have that perception of Romney. Just 33% of Republican voters see McCain as politically conservative and 25% hold that view of Giuliani.
Looked at from the other perspective, 68% see Giuliani as moderate or liberal while 58% of Republicans say the same of McCain. Romney is viewed as moderate or liberal by 39% of GOP voters and 31% say the same about Thompson.
Those perceptions are similar to the way Republican voters saw the candidates a month ago. The biggest shift is a seven-point increase in the number of Republicans who see Romney as politically conservative.
The race for the Republican nomination is very fluid with Thompson and Giuliani holding the top two positions for several months. While Thompson is seen as more ideologically in synch with the conservative-leaning party, Giuliani is seen as the most electable Republican candidate.
Thompson has enjoyed a nice bounce in the polls since formally entering the race.
For most of this year, Giuliani has also been far and away the most popular Republican candidate. Now, however, 68% of Republican voters have a favorable opinion of Giuliani and 64% say the same about Thompson. Those figures include 26% with a Very Favorable opinion of Giuliani and 28% with a Very Favorable opinion of Thompson.
Interestingly, while Thompson is seen as the most conservative candidate by Republican voters, the perception is a bit different among all voters. Forty-one percent (41%) of all voters see Romney as politically conservative. Thirty-eight percent (38%) see Thompson as conservative and 33% see McCain in that way. Just 25% of all voters see Giuliani as a conservative.
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on September 15th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Obviously, as people learn the real records of Romney and Guiliani their media driven perceptions that these two clowns are even remotely Conservative will soon have a cannon ball sized hole in that little rowboat.