Fred Thompson

SurveyUSA: McCain Up By Two In Florida, With Serious Mittmentum Afoot

The new SurveyUSA poll in Florida gives John McCain a very narrow lead over Mitt Romney, who is himself catching up very quickly. Here are the results, compared to the numbers from four days ago:

McCain 30% (+5)
Romney 28% (+9)
Giuliani 18% (-2)
Huckabee 14% (+0)
Paul 6% (-1)

It really does seem like Fred Thompson's exit from the race was a boon for Romney. Fred had 7% support in the previous poll, and it looks like Mitt got the lion's share of it.

Mason-Dixon: Romney Ahead In Florida

Feel the Mittmentum! The new Mason-Dixon poll in Florida shows Mitt Romney grabbing the lead over John McCain:

Romney 30%
McCain 26%
Giuliani 18%
Huckabee 13%
Paul 3%

It's starting to look like McCain tops out somewhere in the mid-high 20s in this key primary — which means that Fred Thompson's withdrawal was the best thing that could have happened to Romney.


Romney Gets Support of Key Thompson Fundraiser In Florida

In a further sign that Fred Thompson's withdrawal could prove to be a net plus for Mitt Romney in the Florida primary, Romney has now picked up the support of Anita Mitchell, one of Thompson's top fundraisers in the state.

Mitchell told The Hill that Romney's experience as a businessman and CEO of the 2002 Winter Olympics attracted her to Mitt's candidacy, adding that "a lot of the people I brought to the table for Fred will go with Romney."

And The Winner Of The Louisiana Caucus Was ... Fred Thompson?

A very special event happened for the Fred Thompson campaign on Tuesday — besides his official withdrawal from the race, of course. It turns out that after he withdrew via a press release that afternoon, he effectively won something that same night.

National Review reports that the winner of the Louisiana caucuses was an uncommitted slate running under the title of "Pro-Life, Pro-Family," followed by John McCain, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. In fact, the organizers of that "Pro-Life, Pro-Family" slate were almost all Thompson supporters who decided to take that name a few weeks ago, when it became a distinct possibility that he would drop out before the caucuses — which he did that very afternoon.

If Thompson had still been in the race, a Louisiana political source explained to NR, his state delegate strength in Louisiana would have been enough to potentially get him all of the state's 47 national delegates. The one big problem, though, is that he dropped out only hours before he finally won something.

Oh, well. As the late, great Hank Williams would say, Fred's victory came just in time to be too late.

Poll: McCain Barely Ahead In Florida

A new poll in Florida by the St. Petersburg Times finds John McCain with only a narrow lead in the Republican primary — a sign that Mitt Romney may be surging thanks to Fred Thompson's withdrawal from the race:

McCain 25%
Romney 23%
Giuliani 15%
Huckabee 15%

Polls: After Fred's Departure, Mittmentum Grows In Florida

Two new polls out today give Mitt Romney the lead in the Florida primary, an apparent sign that he's the biggest winner from Fred Thompson quitting the race.

From InsiderAdvantage: Romney 24%, Giuliani 19%, McCain 18%, Huckabee 12%.

From Public Policy Polling (D): Romney 28%, McCain 25%, Giuliani 19%, Huckabee 15%.

If Mitt Romney were to win Florida, he would not only take over 50 delegates in this winner-take-all contest — he would also throw John McCain right off his game a week before Super Tuesday.

Rudy: I Might Not Even Have To Win Florida

Just how panicked is Rudy Giuliani starting to look? After initially trying to play in various other states and then pulling out in order to bet it all on Florida, he's now downplaying the need to win a primary even in Florida.

In an interview on Fox News today, Rudy was asked by Neil Cavuto if he needed to win in the Sunshine State. "I don't think any candidate ever puts himself in a corner and says, must win, have to win, must win," Rudy said.

More tidbits of news from the Florida GOP primary after the jump.

Read more »

SurveyUSA: No Bounce For McCain In Florida, But He's Still Ahead

The new SurveyUSA poll in Florida, conducted the day after the South Carolina primary, shows John McCain maintaining his lead here — but without any noticeable bounce as of yet. Here are the new numbers, compared to the poll released a week ago:

McCain 25% (+0)
Giuliani 20% (-3)
Romney 19% (+1)
Huckabee 14% (-4)
Thompson 7% (-2)
Paul 7% (+3)

Rasmussen: Romney Leads In Florida

A new Rasmussen poll in Florida shows that Mitt Romney's intense campaigning (and TV advertising) here might be paying off. Here are the numbers, compared to last week's poll:

Romney 25% (+7)
McCain 20% (+1)
Giuliani 19% (+1)
Huckabee 13% (-4)
Thompson 12% (+1)
Paul 5% (+0)

Can Mitt keep it up, or will John McCain be able to ride the momentum from his South Carolina victory? A win here would be big for the delegate count — the Florida primary is winner-take-all.

ARG: Huck Takes The Lead In South Carolina

The final American Research Group poll for the South Carolina Republican primary shows some very wild swings in the home stretch, with Mike Huckabee taking the lead over John McCain. Here are the numbers, compared to yesterday's poll:

Huckabee 33% (+10)
McCain 26% (-7)
Thompson 21% (+8)
Romney 9% (-11)
Giuliani 3% (-1)
Paul 2% (+1)

Is this poll a massive outlier, or could it be an indicator of some genuine, last-minute Huckmentum? We'll all find out Saturday night.

Zogby: McCain Ahead In South Carolina, But He Might Be Slipping

This morning's Zogby poll of South Carolina shows John McCain still in the lead, but underneath the tracking numbers there might be some movement in the wrong direction for him:

McCain 29%
Huckabee 22%
Romney 15%
Thompson 13%
Paul 4%
Giuliani 2%

Some commentary from John Zogby: "There is movement afoot in the Palmetto State. The precise three-day rolling average is McCain 28.6%, Huckabee 22.3%, Romney 15.4%, and Thompson 13.2%. The very first day of polling McCain led by double digits. In the single day of polling on Thursday alone, Romney hit 19%, while McCain’s lead over Huckabee stood at only 3.2%. If Romney continues to gain after Michigan it will hurt McCain."

Poll: McCain And Huckabee Neck And Neck In South Carolina, Obama Leads Dems

The new Mason-Dixon poll in South Carolina shows this Saturday's Republican race to be a dead between John McCain and Mike Huckabee, while Barack Obama currently has a decent lead for next Saturday's Democratic primary:

Democrats:
Obama 40%
Clinton 31%
Edwards 13%

Republicans:
McCain 27%
Huckabee 25%
Romney 15%
Thompson 13%
Paul 6%
Giuliani 5%

In the GOP race, a potentially good sign for Mike Huckabee: Evangelical voters are somewhat more likely to be undecided — and he's running ahead of McCain among them as it is.

Thompson Running 60-Second Spot Tonight In South Carolina

Fred Thompson's campaign is running this 60-second ad tonight in South Carolina — the same "Consistent Conservative" ad he used in Iowa, but with different visuals — during the six o'clock evening news time slot:

Zogby: McCain Ahead In South Carolina

This morning's Zogby poll in South Carolina shows John McCain still holding the lead in the key Southern primary, though not much of the data was collected after the Michigan primary. Here are the numbers, compared to yesterday's tracking poll:

McCain 29% (+0)
Huckabee 22% (-1)
Thompson 14% (+2)
Romney 12% (-1)
Paul 5% (+0)
Giuliani 5% (-1)

Zogby: National Dem Race A Dead Heat, McCain Has Small Lead Among Republicans

The new Zogby poll shows the Democratic race to be a statistical dead heat nationally. Hillary Clinton comes in first with 39%, not significantly different from Barack Obama's 38%. John Edwards is way behind at 9%.

On the Republican side, John McCain has a narrow lead of 28% to Mike Huckabee's 23%. In third place was Fred Thompson at 14%, with MItt Romney at 13%. Rudy Giuliani, the former national frontrunner, has only 9%.

The poll was conducted before the Michigan primary, so we cannot know yet what the impact will be of Romney's nine-point victory over McCain.

Thompson Ad In South Carolina: "I'd Appreciate Your Vote"

Fred Thompson has a new ad in South Carolina, the site of his final stand. The spot features the candidate talking to the camera, laying out the case to voters that he is the steadfast conservative in the race, dedicated to the issues that they care about:

Quinnipiac: Four-Way GOP Dead Heat In Florida

A new Quinnipiac poll in Florida shows a four-way dead heat on the Republican side, much like the Rasmussen poll also out this morning. Here are the numbers, compared to the last Quinnipiac poll from mid-December:

McCain 22% (+9)
Giuliani 20% (-8)
Huckabee 19% (-2)
Romney 19% (-1)
Thompson 7% (-1)
Paul 5% (+3)

The Democrats are not seriously contesting this rogue primary, which for now has been stripped of all delegates by the Democratic National Committee. But there the numbers stand at Clinton 52% (+9), Obama 31% (+10), and Edwards 9% (-10).

Rasmussen: Florida GOP Race A Four-Way Dead Heat

The new Rasmussen poll in Florida shows the Florida Republican primary to be totally up in the air — four candidates are stuck in a dead heat. Here are the numbers, compared to Rasmussen's last Florida poll from a month ago:

McCain 19% (+13)
Romney 18% (-5)
Giuliani 18% (-1)
Huckabee 17% (-10)
Thompson 11% (+2)
Paul 5% (+1)

CBS/NYT And ABC/WaPo Polls Give National Leads To Hillary And McCain

Two new major polls show national leads for Hillary Clinton and John McCain within their respective parties, though one is definitely more favorable to the frontrunners than the other.

From ABC/The Washington Post, compared to their last poll in early December:

Democrats:
Clinton 42% (-11)
Obama 37% (+14)
Edwards 11% (+1)

Republicans:
McCain 28% (+16)
Huckabee 20% (+1)
Romney 19% (+2)
Giuliani 15% (-10)
Thompson 8% (-6)

The CBS/NYT poll is available after the jump.

Read more »

SurveyUSA: McCain Takes The Lead In Florida

The new SurveyUSA poll of Florida shows John McCain jumping into the lead here in the aftermath of his New Hampshire comeback. Here are the numbers, compared to their last poll from early December:

McCain 27% (+16)
Giuliani 19% (-13)
Huckabee 17% (+1)
Romney 17% (+2)
Thompson 8% (-6)

With numbers like this, McCain has to be considered to have the inside track for the nomination.

Rasmussen: Huckabee Leads In South Carolina

The new Rasmussen poll has Mike Huckabee opening up a lead in South Carolina, albeit not as big as the one in today's SurveyUSA poll. Here are the numbers, compared to their last poll from three weeks ago:

Huckabee 28% (+5)
McCain 21% (+9)
Romney 15% (-8)
Thompson 11% (-1)
Giuliani 10% (-1)

SurveyUSA: Huckabee Dominates In South Carolina

The new SurveyUSA poll shows Mike Huckabee posting a huge lead in South Carolina, with nearly double the support of his nearest competitor. Here are the numbers, compared to the last poll from December 20:

Huckabee 36% (+8)
Romney 19% (-1)
McCain 17% (+1)
Thompson 11% (-4)
Giuliani 9% (-3)

Gallup: Huckabee Leads National GOP Race

The new Gallup poll shows that Mike Huckabee is enjoying his post-Iowa bounce, now taking the lead among Republicans nationwide. Here are the numbers, compared to the last poll in mid-December:

Huckabee 25% (+9)
Giuliani 20% (-7)
McCain 19% (+5)
Thompson 12% (-2)
Romney 9% (-5)
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