A recent DesMoinesRegister poll shows that Huckabee has gained 8% since the last poll was taken in May. Mike is currently leading Giuliani who has 11% while Huckabee has 12%. Interestingly a lot of the candidates' numbers have also changes dramatically and not for the better. Fred Thompson, who is new to the race, starts off well with 18%. It's a notable number considering he wasn't even in the May poll. Brownback, Giuliani and McCain all took dives in the most recent poll with McCain fairing the worst, failing from 18% in may to 7% in the latest poll. The results don't say everything but they definitely reflect on those that have made overall progress and those that have slipped down the ladder in recent months.
Brownback's slip lower in the polls is no surprise to me. I think he is a great guy and has a lot to offer but sadly he has not caught the attention of the public and will most likely be calling it quits sooner than later. Brownback is the kind of candidate that the Republican party needs to get behind, strong conservative values and someone that has good ideas for this country and our future. Giuliani's slip is no surprise either, the Republican party's core conservatives are rather uneasy about his social stances and are seemingly siding with Romney, Thompson or Huckabee instead.
Other than Thompson, Huckabee is the only candidate to make substantial progress. Romney is able to hold things steady and only drops one point but Huckabee was able to gain 8% to topple Giuliani. Huckabee is not a win-lose candidate, Huckabee is as electable as Giuliani if not more. While Giuliani is capable of catching the left-wing vote because of his social liberalism, Huckabee would honor the Republican party with his conservative values but his likable personality would appeal to all. Thompson is the star at the moment because of his popularity but I feel the further down the trail you get the more fumbles he will make that will cost him. However you look at it Giuliani is slipping, he's not the worse case scenario but the other top candidates sound a lot better to me.
This poll only peaks into the overall progress of the candidates at this moment. Next month we should have a much clearer picture of what is to come. After the appearance of Thompson cools down we will see if his fame holds him into place. We will also see if Giuliani is able to ward of conservative Republicans and please the moderates of the party. Huckabee's progress is rather impressive, we will see if this momentum helps him continue his climb up the ladder. Either way I hope to see the conservative core of the party push for values before electability, in the end the core values voters will be the ones that win or lose it for the Republican party.
DesMoinesRegister.
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