Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has to share his spot atop the field of Republican Presidential hopefuls this week. The newest face in the race, actor and former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, is now tied with Giuliani. The latest
Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds each man earning support from 24% of likely Republican Primary voters.
A week ago, Giuliani had a six percentage point lead over Thompson, 23% to 17%.
It is not unusual for a candidate to gain ground in the polls when they first announce their intentions. However, Thompson's rise has been meteoric. It remains to be seen whether the reality of his candidacy can measure up to its allure as an alternative for those dissatisfied with the other candidates in the field.
At the moment, 59% of Republicans have a favorable opinion of their newest candidate.
Just 14% hold an unfavorable opinion of Thompson while 27% are not sure.
Forty-two percent (42%) of Republicans view Thompson as politically conservative. Twenty-four percent (24%) see him as politically moderate, 3% say liberal and 30% are not sure. Twenty-one percent(21%) of Republicans view Giuliani as politically conservative (63% see the former Mayor of New York as politically moderate while 12% say liberal).
Just as startling as Thompson's rise in this week's poll is the continuing loss of support for Arizona Senator John McCain. The man once considered the dominant front runner in the race is now supported by just 11% of likely Republican Primary voters nationwide. That's down from 17% in May and 14% a week ago. His support is just half of what it was in January.
McCain's sharp decline in support came as an immigration reform measure dominated the news. McCain was one of the few vocal supporters of the legislation that was far more popular in Congress than among the American people. No other Republican Presidential candidate supported the bill that failed in the Senate last week. McCain is now viewed favorably by just 47% of voters in his home state of Arizona.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney slipped to 11% in this week's poll and is tied with McCain. Prior to modest gains over the past few weeks, Romney had consistently been in the 10% to 12% range.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's (R) support is down to 7%. Gingrich has indicated that the odds are strongly against him entering the campaign. As a result, from this point forward,
Rasmussen Reports is not including Gingrich in polling on the Republican Presidential nomination.
Rasmussen Reports releases updated polling data on the Republican nominating contest every Tuesday. Results for the Democrats are updated on Mondays.
A separate survey found that 37% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party. Forty-five percent (45%) have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party. Voters continue to trust Democrats more than Republicans on ten key issues tracked by
Rasmussen Reports. But, over the past month, Republicans have gained significant ground on one key issue, immigration. What's especially interesting about this trend is that the Republican Party gained while the President's Job Approval ratings have fallen to new lows. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has also been impacted by the immigration issue—just 19% of voters nationwide now have a favorable opinion of Reid. That's down from 26% a month ago.
Forty-eight percent (48%) of Americans believe the United States is safer today than it was before 9/11. That figure includes 75% of Republicans and 29% of Democrats. A solid plurality of Democrats wants to remove all combat troops from Iraq immediately. A solid plurality of Republicans wants the troops to remain until the mission is accomplished.
