Poll: GOP Would Beat Hillary In Alabama, But Not By Much
A new SurveyUSA poll in Alabama tests Hillary Clinton against some of the top and lower-tier Republican candidates, and even throws in a general election match-up for Al Gore as the Democratic nominee:
Giuliani (R) 52%, Clinton (D) 44%
Thompson (R) 51%, Clinton (D) 45%
Clinton (D) 48%, Romney (R) 46%
Clinton (D) 47%, Huckabee (R) 46%
McCain (R) 52%, Clinton (D) 43%
Clinton (D) 48%, Paul (R) 42%
Giuliani (R) 52%, Gore (D) 43%
This Deep South state has not voted for the Democratic nominee since 1976. While it should probably go Republican again, the Republican frontrunners seem to be leading Hillary by a lot less than they should be. Interestingly, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee trail Hillary, but this could simply be due to low name recognition.
Comments (14)
Daniel wrote on October 16, 2007 11:49 AM:More stunningly, Clinton does much better today than in SUSA's Alabama poll from last month!
Dan wrote on October 16, 2007 11:59 AM:I think a lot of that is a reflection of the growing "consensus" that she WILL be the next president.
bob wrote on October 16, 2007 11:59 AM:"This could simply be due to low name recognition."
Do you really think so?
These random polls are such a waste of time! TPM Election Central should not degenerate into TPM Poll Tracker Central. Please don't blog on every pointless poll that comes in over the transom. IA, NH, SC and NV polls are okay to blog. The rest are simply useless!
Liberal Larry wrote on October 16, 2007 12:05 PM:The point here is that it doesn't matter how bad Bush-Lite divides the Democratic Party and the country. The Bloomberg/Perot strategy has already taken effect.
Lisa in Bama wrote on October 16, 2007 1:34 PM:Alabama has a significant African-American voter base, which is reliably Democratic. The oldest black Democratic group in the state just endorsed HRC. We also have a lot of people who are poor and lower middle class, both black and white, who are trending away from Republicans because of health care, the mortgage meltdown and other pocketbook issues.
Long Memory wrote on October 16, 2007 2:14 PM:Does that poll factor in voter suppression or not? It's a legitimate question.
rssrai wrote on October 16, 2007 2:32 PM:I think Missouri is more important and Rasmuessen has Hillary losing to Guiliani by 3 points when she beat him last month. I think repugs are starting to pay attention now, and Hillary's negatives is going to start showing soon. The dems should be stomping all repugs in Missouri.
Steve wrote on October 16, 2007 4:11 PM:rssrai gave a very seasoned reminder with Rasmussen's poll in Missouri today. Also there's Rasmussen's poll the other day from Arizona and Mason-Dixon's poll of Nevada - both showing Hillary way behind in must-win states. We're seeing some pretty interesting stuff.
daniel155 wrote on October 16, 2007 5:13 PM:What is this polling hypothetical matchups of Clinton with Ron Paul? Do the pollsters have too much time on their hand. A lot of states will be in play next fall but I don't think Alabama will be one of them unless there is a total GOP meltdown this poll notwithstanding.
Liberal Larry wrote on October 16, 2007 5:58 PM:Alabama WILL be in play if Bush-Lite is kicked to the curb.
daniel155 wrote on October 17, 2007 2:42 AM:I would have to question the above comment by Steve that calls Arizona and Nevada must win states for the Democrats. There are a lot of electoral configurations for a Democratic victory that does not include those two states.
The last poll I saw in Nevada showed Hilary trailing the potential GOP candidates by 49 to 44. That is hardly way behind.
But these polls and the Alabama poll have been taken when Clinton is riding high so they may give an inflated view of Clinton support in the general election.
It still would be unlikely that Alabama would be a contested state. If Democrats win there then they are probably on their way to at least a forty five state landslide.
But Nevada and Arizona are competitive states for Democrats. But a lot can happen between now and November 2008.
Joseph Conrad wrote on October 17, 2007 1:45 PM:Election 2008 is a long way off and Bush-Cheney have much more Irreconcilable and Prefound Evil to Inflict upon Passive America & Whining Democrats. Hillary or Giulliani is irrelevant to the REAL Powers that Be. What IS relevant is for Americans to elect Strong Democratic Men & Women who are COMMITTED to Righting the Wrongs of 7 years of Political Depravity visited upon this Great Republic.
GOPHater wrote on October 18, 2007 9:27 AM:I had the misfortune of living in Alabama for about 3 years back in the seventies. Stupidest people I ever met in my life. They would vote republican no matter what. They are a bunch of hypocritical, spineless, ignorant aholes who can't even stand each other if not from the same county. They are pitiful.
Belle Start wrote on October 18, 2007 9:41 AM:Welcome to Alabama, land of the rednecks, of course Alabama will vote for a Republican, don't they always vote for the worst possible candidate. Today in Alabama you cannot say anything negative about Bush. I once was fired from a job in 2003 when it wasn't fair to critizize the pres E dent. A woman here told me that Bush was the second coming and I told her I thought he was the antichrist. This is a state where Karl Rove can put a former Alabama governor in jail for absolutely nothing. You have to tred softly among the rednecks here.
