Poll: Huckabee Tied For Second Nationally!

Comments (36)

Shii wrote on December 3, 2007 5:42 PM:

Praying for a Huckabee-Obama national election.

warren terra wrote on December 3, 2007 5:55 PM:

Watch out. Huck could be the UnHillary. All the more reason to nominate Obama.

DTM wrote on December 3, 2007 5:56 PM:

Actually, the last Gallup poll was conducted 11/11-11/14. That means Gallup has Clinton's national lead going from 27 points to 15 points in about 2 1/2 weeks.

Eric Kleefeld wrote on December 3, 2007 5:59 PM:

The month-ago high for Hillary was 50%, not 48%. I've corrected.

The Huck numbers are something else.

CalD wrote on December 3, 2007 6:21 PM:

Huckabee in second sounds rather less impressive when you realize the people he's tied with are Thompson and McCain.

DTM wrote on December 3, 2007 6:21 PM:

Eric,

Thank you for making the correction (although I personally think comparing this poll to the last Gallup poll, and not the older poll, gives a better sense of recent dynamics).

Orwell's Intuition wrote on December 3, 2007 6:25 PM:

Will the media roast Huckabee on a spit because of Wayne Dumond the way they roasted Dukakis because of Willie Horton?

To the GOP, political beauty is never skin deep; it's all surface appeal.

"New sources, including an advisor to Gov. Mike Huckabee, have told the Arkansas Times that Huckabee and a senior member of his staff exerted behind-the-scenes influence to bring about the parole of rapist Wayne Dumond, who Missouri authorities say raped and killed a woman there shortly after his parole."

http://tinyurl.com/85a9r

DonnaG wrote on December 3, 2007 6:26 PM:

Eric's headline [Poll: Huckabee Tied For Second Nationally!] was changed from USA headline:
"USA TODAY/Gallup Poll: Significant drops in support for Clinton & Giuliani". Helps keep the latest 'Hillary falling' news out of the headlines....I suppose....

And, of interest to me for the same reason is the EC poll tracker......this Gallup poll's republican race is listed, but not the democratic race.....why, oh why, is that, Eric?

gcs wrote on December 3, 2007 6:39 PM:

Again, what about this is surprising?

The shiny teeth and hairspray crowd on the teevee decided a year ago they wanted a Clinton-Giuliani race and have spent all their time talking as if that's the script. Now they've got to rewrite the script to cover the "dark horse" scenario. Except the very idea of a leader or a dark horse is absurd on its face before a single vote has been cast.

I do sincerely wish the bobbleheads with the pretty teeth would go back to reporting what happened in the past tense instead of showing off the vast space in their heads and telling us what they believe will happen.

I can't decide who sickens me more - teevee "news" douches or the blithering morons who believe in creationism.

Bell Curve wrote on December 3, 2007 6:49 PM:

Shii wrote on December 3, 2007 5:42 PM: Praying for a Huckabee-Obama national election.

I don't know if the end result of that election would be good for the country, but oh, to watch those debates ... definitely the two best orators of the current candidates.

js wrote on December 3, 2007 7:12 PM:

is there something going on under radar we don't know about the Huckster? I can't believe all suddent he is rising unless other guys like Mitty and McCain are losing big support.

nrglaw wrote on December 3, 2007 7:15 PM:

Huckabee is a massive complication for the Democrats. Even without the polls, you can see that this guy has the momentum on the GOP side--he is the best candidate for the Repubs because he is the only one that connects with voters in a range of forums; he is also the only one that can't be accused of (much)skulduggery, hypocrisy, pandering or just complete vacuousness.

That ability to connect with voters is in sharp contrast with Hillary, who has work to do in that department. This should a matter of a lot of concern--it is a factor that can determine elections. He also has outsider status, which could be a plus in this election, trumping deep Washington experience.

Dems are going to have to reflect very carefully on this, and make sure we don't renominate Walter Mondale who dies at the hands of another folksy GOPer.

DTM wrote on December 3, 2007 7:20 PM:

js,

Huckabee has been gaining steadily for months, and recently most of that support has come from Thompson. Which makes sense: Thompson was supposed to be the Southern Conservative choice, and he has been second to Giuliani in the national polls for a long time. But for whatever reason Thompson hasn't panned out, so Huckabee is gradually taking his place.

jeffgee wrote on December 3, 2007 7:29 PM:

Rudy's loss is Mike's gain.

gqmartinez wrote on December 3, 2007 7:30 PM:

js,

No one believed me when I said to watch out for Huckabee. He's a reasonable guy who's staunch conservative positions have been tamed somewhat by his tenure as governor. So he is appealing to many of the religious right voters as well as some of the less extreme Republicans. Giuliani and Romney are not natural candidates for the GOP and Thompson is a joke of a candidate. That leaves Huckabee and McCain. McCain was trashed and abandoned by the media (after being a media darling not too long ago) so his lack of appeal may not be permanent. With McCain's weak showing so far, Huckabee is the only consistent GOP candidate who isn't a frothing at the mouth type like Tancredo or Hunter. It's not surprising he is doing well. On paper, he should be the nominee.

CranialRectalLoopback wrote on December 3, 2007 7:42 PM:

Those of you who think that Obama is the Democratic answer are delusional. Having lived in the West, South, and North East, I can guarantee you we live in a racist society. There will be no black man leading this nation anytime soon. As for Pukabee, it scares the crap out of me that someone who doesn't believe in evolution has a serious chance of winning this election.

Get ready for magic underwear or another tryst in the White House. Our next president will tragically be Willard "glove" Romney or Rudolph the the red-faced Goolyawnee.

mg wrote on December 3, 2007 7:43 PM:

DonnaG,
you pretty much described my frustration with the media these days. Several news organization barely mentioned the DesMoines Register poll, crammed these Pew numbers down our throats and now have managed to alter the title of the USAToday poll so that you would barely even know that Hillary's numbers were rapidly declining.

Michael Caine wrote on December 3, 2007 7:50 PM:

I have been trying to warn people about Huckabee being the likely nominee out of the Republican crowd since last December. His only issue was raising money, only the Republican money machine has been stingy so far and won't start pouring it into any of the Republican candidates until after Iowa. So Huckabee got a break there as well. After he wins Iowa, gets the Iowa bump in NH to come in first or second as a quite possible scenario (but even if he comes in 3rd) and then a win in South Carolina, the money will start pouring into his campaign. Romney fades out as the non-Guiliani vote for Super Tsunami 1/3 of the Delegates Tuesday and the 85% of the Republicans that don't want Guiliani's skeleton filled closet to make a mockery of the '08 Election will jump on board Huckabee.

It is interesting that the Republican Nomination just might be sewn up before the Democratic Nomination. It is easier when you have mainly nutballs and a man who is slowly descending into senility to run against. It was Romney's only hope only Huckabee is the one that actually is talking any sense amongst them.

Propagandee wrote on December 3, 2007 7:53 PM:

I hereby announce my availability to negotiate an Edwards/Obama Axis of Hillary Stoppers.

After agreeing on a set of metrics that will be used to determine who has the better chance of beating Clinton head-on if the other withdraws from the race, the winner agrees to make the loser his VP candidate.

Can I get me a witness?

Anonymous wrote on December 3, 2007 8:08 PM:

Mrs. Bill Clinton's thin veneer is starting to crack... and there's nothing underneath. Hillary the inevitable? America is beginning to see her and hear her and say "No thanks!"

DonnaG wrote on December 3, 2007 8:23 PM:

mg,

Well, at least the poll tracker got corrected. I watched all weekend to see if the poll tracker was going to list the Des Moines poll, and it only barely got listed when another poll could be read atop it.

lr wrote on December 3, 2007 8:45 PM:

me too shii, me too that would be phenomenal

gcs wrote on December 3, 2007 10:17 PM:

No one ever said Hillary was "inevitable" save for the Brylcreem douchebags who kept pushing it as part of the '08 campaign script a year before we a single American cast a single freaking vote.

I can just hear the fluffy hair and shiny toothed bobbleheads now, whining to each other over glasses of 30-year old scotch, how stupid we all are for not buying the Clinton-Giuliani story line they were selling us. Whaa-whaa-whaa that was the campaign they wanted to cover, and those were the books they wanted to write.

I say fuck 'em. Let's give 'em Edwards and Huckabee and let the empty suits with the Farrah hair chase after this story instead of the countless stories they make up every day, like Bush being a "regular guy" or the Clinton people "defacing" the White House or Bush actually giving a crap about Osama bin Laden or Rumsfeld being responsible for the hundred debacles in Iraq or any of a thousand other stories....

Daniel wrote on December 3, 2007 10:29 PM:

OH-05 is heating up. The NRCC has bought massive ad time in this very conservative district (special election is in a week) to respond to the DCCC's ad blasting GOPer Latta. Which is pretty much what Democrats were hoping for, given that the NRCC is already in debt and cannot afford to spend money in districts such as these.

DallasNE wrote on December 3, 2007 11:10 PM:

Stop it I say. Enough of this horse race reporting. It does not inform the voters one iota on where the candidates stand on the issues. Here we are 10 months into the campaign season and I know about as much about the positions of the candidates as I would have expected to learn in the first 10 days of the campaign. This polling crap should be nothing more than a little noise to the campaigns, not the near sole focus of the campaign. I've had it!!!! If I want to watch American Idol I know where to look and it shouldn't be here.

CalD wrote on December 3, 2007 11:34 PM:

Dallas, if it's thoughtful and in-depth issue and policy discussion you're looking for, try TPM Cafe. This blog basically is a Daily Racing Form for the 2008 campaign.

jeffgee wrote on December 4, 2007 12:05 AM:

He's on Nightline tonight. This guy is a phenomenon. No Rudy mistress or Mitt pandering baggage. A Republican populist, not a Washington insider, who's not afraid to distance himself from the gang in the WH today.
It's gonna be hard to do a negative campaign against him. He's not mean. He's a nice guy. He doesn't raise blood pressure like Il Rudy does.
However:
No theocrats, please. Huck's a theocrat. He's a Republican. Biggest assets: He's not Rudy or Mitt or McCain. If he's elected by theocrats, they'll expect him to carry their agenda.

Richard wrote on December 4, 2007 2:03 AM:

Romney has shown his one term Governor (didn't run for re-election because he would have lost)skills by his constantly changing campaign messages and strategy(s).

The guys a political lightweight. He has attacked all his opponents in such a way that he will never win their support if that time comes.

Its a nice contrast though, smooth talking wealthy investment banker from the big city versus the down home Baptist preacher turned Governor who speaks the language of the common man. Who usually wins those contests?

donna wrote on December 4, 2007 3:05 AM:

Um, are they SURE people didn't mishear and think they said, "AppleBees?"

I think a lot of those old people they actually reach on the telephone that are desperate enough to want to talk to pollsters might get a bit confused.

Tim wrote on December 4, 2007 5:13 AM:

Imagine a Huckabee vs. Hillary campaign where Huck runs to the left of Hillary on economic issues.

That would be quite interesting.

NH Dem wrote on December 4, 2007 6:17 AM:

"Imagine a Huckabee vs. Hillary campaign...."

No, thank you.

That's been my nightmare for a year and a half.

Huckabee is everything GWB claimed to be in 2000: a humble compassionate conservative with deeply held principles and an ability and desire to work respectfully with those he disagrees with. In addition, he's intelligent and speaks extremely well and can speak to any group of people -- all those years as a preacher were not wasted.

Put him up against the questionably human Hillary, and I do not relish the likely result. Yes, I'd vote and volunteer for Hillary, but I wouldn't like it.

I consoled myself for a long time that his fundraising was so amazingly low that he wouldn't be able to go anywhere, but that may no longer hold true.

Having said which, it certainly doesn't help him to have his opponents pushing the part of his record that involves the phrase "testicles in a jar."

Anonymous wrote on December 4, 2007 6:34 AM:

Jeffgee said: "[Huck's] biggest assets: He's not Rudy or Mitt or McCain.

He's also not Hillary. Itlooks like the Democrats are waking up to Mrs. Bill's shallow credentials and inability to give a straightforward, consistent, value-grounded answer on ANY question. IF the Democrats and corporate establishment insist on nominating her, Huckabee though very conservative, will attrack a lot of thinking Democrats, progressives and independents who above all else want to end the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton corporate-profiteering, Washington establishment, status quo.

We need democracy back in America. Maybe a populist Republican who is sick of Bush is the answer. One thing is certain, Hillary is not the answer.

Concerned in Iowa wrote on December 4, 2007 6:43 AM:

NH Dem said "Put [Huckabee] up against the questionably human Hillary, and I do not relish the likely result. Yes, I'd vote and volunteer for Hillary, but I wouldn't like it."

Very very sad statement. People who put party loyalty ahead of their values and their nation are the reason we're in the mess we are in. Democrats who will support and vote for Hillary simply because corporations manage to nominiate a Republica-lite on the Democratic ticket are sheep, or worse yet lemmings. Blindly follow the party, even over a cliff.

Democrats who love their party, have strong values and love their nation are working night and day to be sure Hillary is not nominated by their party. Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton is not a Democratic agenda.

DonnaG wrote on December 4, 2007 9:13 AM:

Once I heard Huckabee speak, I was impressed to my toes, and actually really surprised to find a sane one among the republicans. Haven't studied his ideas much, though.

I agree that he would be potential nominee Hillary's nightmare in a general election.

kefa wrote on December 4, 2007 12:07 PM:

The Huskster has no money and is the flavor of the month....wait till the covers are lifted.

votenic wrote on December 4, 2007 1:36 PM:

2008 Presidential Election Weekly Poll
http://www.votenic.com

The Only Poll That Matters.
Results Posted Every Tuesday Evening.

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