Don’t Read Too Much Into Early Polls–Jindal on Horizon
Written by Audrie Zettick on November 22, 2008
We’re interested in several of the conservative and center-right potential 2012 presidential candidates whose names are bandied about, thus I was intrigued by the Gallup Panel Survey released today (a good mental health break from following the Obama appointments).
The released data are grouped into several tables, including one that differentiates between the opinions of Republicans as a whole, those that identify themselves as “conservatives,” and those that are ” moderate/liberal Republicans.”
When asked who they’d like to see run for President in 2012, the results were as follows:
|
|
1st Choice |
2nd choice |
3rd Choice |
|
REPUBLICANS |
Palin (67%) |
Romney (62%) |
Huckabee (61%) |
|
CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS |
Palin (73%) |
Huckabee (65%) |
Romney (64%) |
|
LIBERAL/MODERATE REPUBLICANS |
Romney (59%) |
Giuliani (50%) |
Palin (48%) |
|
Source: Gallup Panel Survey, Nov. 5-6 |
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It’s no surprise that 47% of Liberal/Moderate Republicans also didn’t want to see Palin run. (My cynical side says the 48% of this category who want her to run might be rooting for the Dems. But I digress…)
I think this is reflective of two things: the focus on Sarah Palin due to the recent campaign (duh) and Mitt Romney’s reputation as a business leader, which resonates because of the economic circumstances.
Proof that it’s too early to take any of these numbers seriously is the absence of Governor Bobby Jindal in the top tier. He’s WAY down the list across the board–at 34% (Republicans), 37% (Conservatives) and 26% (Moderate/Liberal Republicans). His low numbers among conservatives is reflective of his lack of play in the media and knowledge of his credentials.
The more I know about him (this is not an endorsement), the more I am interested (see more in Red County’s Magazine). He’s young, effective and will be around for a long, long while. As the mother of a teen who will be old enough to vote in 2012, I can envision him getting the youth vote….but I can envision Palin and Romney doing the same thing. How Jindal handles Louisiana’s challenges in this economy will determine how far up this list he moves in the coming years. I can’t wait to see.
Posted in: 2012, Jindal, Palin, Republican
One Response to “Don’t Read Too Much Into Early Polls–Jindal on Horizon”
I adore Bobby Jindal. I still have hope for Palin, but will have to see how she recovers from the loss of this election. I think Bobby Jindal is an incredible man, and so young that I would hate to see him run against Obama in 2012 if there were any chance of an Obama re-election. If Obama is even moderately competent in running this country, I think we’re going to have to go with someone like Romney, who would serve as a sacrificial lamb of sorts on behalf of the GOP, in order to not taint the stronger, younger GOP stars.
By Tabitha Hale on Nov 27, 2008