2008 Republican Presidential Primary

Monday, April 23, 2007

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Senator John McCain both gained support this week in the race for the GOP nomination. Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney held steady and remain the only other Republicans earning double digit support.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of the Republican Presidential Primary competition finds Giuliani at 33%, fourteen points ahead of McCain’s 19%. Thompson is still in third at 13% slightly ahead of Romney at 11%. For Giuliani, that’s his highest level of support in three weeks. It’s McCain’s best showing since early March. Last week, it was Giuliani 27% McCain 16% Thompson 14% and Romney 12%.

Rasmussen Reports releases updated polling data on the Republican nominating contest every Tuesday. Results for the Democrats are updated on Mondays. The current survey is based upon national telephone interviews with 824 Likely Republican Primary Voters conducted April 9-12, 2007. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was consistently in third place before Thompson’s name was thrown into the ring. He is now in fifth place as and is the top choice for just 8% of those likely to vote in a Republican Primary.

A separate survey found that 29% of all voters say they would definitely vote for Giuliani if he is on the ballot in November 2008. Thirty-four percent (34%) would definitely vote against him. Those numbers are a bit weaker for Giuliani than they were a month ago, but they are still the best of any Republican Presidential hopeful. For McCain, the numbers are 23% definitely for and 35% definitely against. Those figures have changed little over the past month.

Illinois Senator Barack Obama (D) draws the best overall numbers of any candidate at this time—33% definitely for and 33% definitely against.

Rasmussen Reports continuously updates favorability ratings and general election match-ups for all Democratic and Republican candidates. Also available are continuously updated ratings for Members of Congress, Other Political Figures, and Journalists.

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

The Rasmussen Reports Election Edge™ Premium Service offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage available anywhere.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.

This national telephone survey of 824 Likely Republican Primary Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on April 9-12, 2007. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. (see Methodology)

Election Polls 2008: Republican Presidential Primary Contenders
Date	Giul.	McCain	Thom.	Romn.
4/17	33%	19%	13%	12%
4/10	27%	16%	14%	12%
4/03	26%	16%	14%	8%
3/27	35%	15%	x	8%
3/20	33%	15%	x	10%
3/13	37%	16%	x	10%
3/06	34%	19%	x	9%
2/27	33%	17%	x	10%
2/20	33%	19%	x	8%
2/14	32%	18%	x	8%
2/06	27%	19%	x	9%
1/29	29%	19%	x	8%
1/23	30%	22%	x	10%
1/18	28%	20%	x	8%

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