Rudy Giuliani

Poll: With Huckabee, Trump Out Of The Picture, Giuliani Leads GOP Primary Free-For-All

Jon Terbush | May 27, 2011, 1:57PM

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) and GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney

Despite making virtually no noise about a presidential campaign, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) is the new frontrunner in the Republican primary, according to a CNN poll released today. But Giuliani's sudden emergence is less a sign of his strength than it is reminder of the nebulous nature of the GOP field, one which was thrown into flux recently with the news that Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump would not pursue White House bids.

In early polls of the race, support has generally ebbed and flowed among a handful of well-known candidates -- including Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, and Newt Gingrich -- with little ground separating those in the top-tier. Huckabee and Trump each posted leads in a few national surveys, and with their departure, their supporters have sifted down to the remaining high-profile names.

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Mitt Romney

Special Delivery: Romney Sends Leftover Pizza To Obama's Campaign HQ

Jon Terbush | May 27, 2011, 10:00AM

Mitt Romney took his presidential campaign to the next level on Thursday, eschewing mud slinging to instead engage in the far more delicious smear tactic of pizza slinging.

You know that old prank where you send a bunch of pizzas to someone who never ordered them? Well that's sort of what Mitt Romney did during a campaign stop in Chicago, sending the leftovers from his meal to Obama's campaign headquarters.

Romney announced his prank via Twitter, complete with a picture of a delivery guy about to set off with the pies.

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Newt Gingrich

Poll: Gingrich's Standing Plummets With GOP Voters After Disastrous Campaign Roll Out

Jon Terbush | May 26, 2011, 3:24PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Newt Gingrich's terrible, horrible, no good very bad campaign roll out just got a little bit worse.

According to a PPP poll released Thursday, Gingrich's own party has rapidly turned against on the former House speaker, as a plurality now say they have an unfavorable opinion of him.

In the poll, 38% of Republican voters said they view Gingrich favorably, versus 45% who view him unfavorably. That's a huge 27 point swing from last month when 52% viewed him favorably, and 32% viewed him unfavorably.

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John Kasich

Poll: Gov. Kasich Would Lose Do-Over Election By 25 Points

Jon Terbush | May 26, 2011, 8:51AM

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)

Since signing a bill earlier this year to strip public unions of most of their collective bargaining rights, Ohio Gov. John Kasich's (R) approval rating has plummeted, bottoming out at a new low in a PPP poll released Wednesday. As if that weren't bad enough, the poll also found Kasich losing a theoretical do-over election -- by an enormous 25-point margin.

Kasich narrowly defeated incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland (D) last November, and almost immediately set his sights on rolling back public sector collective bargaining rights through a bill known as S.B. 5. That drive was deeply unpopular with his constituents, prompting large protests and sending the governor's approval rating into a nosedive.

In the latest poll, only 33% of registered voters said they approve of Kasich's job performance, compared to 56% who said the disapprove of it. That result ties Kasich with Florida's Rick Scott (R) as the most unpopular of the 38 governors PPP has surveyed.

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Herman Cain

Polls: Herman Cain Vaults Into Contention In GOP Prez Race

Jon Terbush | May 26, 2011, 8:49AM

Herman Cain

Last month, Herman Cain was a little-known radio talk show host who struggled to pick up more than a few percentage points in polls of the 2012 Republican presidential primary race. But two new polls released this week show Cain vaulting from the back of the pack into the top-tier of candidates.

Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin snagged the top two slots in a national Gallup poll released Thursday morning, taking over the lead from Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump, who led in Gallup's April poll but who have since announced that they will not run in 2012. But it was Cain who gained the most ground, jumping from less than one percent last month to 8% now, good enough for fifth place.

That huge jump placed Cain just one point behind Newt Gingrich (9%), and only two back of Ron Paul (10%), both of whom are much more widely known around the country. That jump also threw Cain ahead of a slew of other candidates who suffer from chronically low name recognition and who have yet to crack the top-tier, like Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum.

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Rick Scott

Poll: Rick Scott Earns His Worst Approval Rating Ever

Jon Terbush | May 25, 2011, 11:19AM

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL)

Florida Gov. Rick Scott's (R) approval rating has sunk to a new low, as nearly six in ten Florida voters now say they disapprove of their chief executive's job performance barely 5 months into his tenure, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday morning.

Scott was one of the new Republican governor's swept into office last year as anti-incumbent rage thwarted Democrats nationwide. But since his inauguration, Scott has pursued a number of unpopular proposals, capped off by a recently-passed budget he is set to sign this week that voters overwhelmingly dislike by a two to one margin.

In the poll, 57% of registered voters said they're unhappy with how Scott has handled his job as governor, a record high. At the same time, only 29% of voters said they approved of Scott's job performance, making Scott the most unpopular of 10 governors Quinnipiac has surveyed this year.

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Dennis Kucinich

Poll: Washington Voters Wouldn't Roll Out Welcome Mat For Kucinich

Jon Terbush | May 24, 2011, 3:34PM

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-WA)? A new PPP poll out Tuesday suggests voters in Washington state are largely unreceptive to the thought of the Ohio congressman moving west and running for office in their state.

In the poll, 39% of registered voters said Kucinich should not run for Congress from a new district that will be drawn next year as a result of last year's census reapportionment, while 12% said he should run. A bright spot fo Kucinich though, should he move to Washington and decide to run, is that a 48% plurality of voters are still undecided.

Also, while a 53% majority of voters there don't know Kucinich well enough to form an opinion of him, a greater percentage of voters don't like him (28%) than the percentage who do like him (19%.)

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Rick Perry

Poll: Rick Perry Gets No Home State Love In GOP Primary

Jon Terbush | May 24, 2011, 1:03PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

There's been much speculation in recent weeks that Texas Governor Rick Perry (R), sensing an opening in the Republican primary field, could be a major player should he throw his hat in the ring. Perry says he's not running, and according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll of registered voters, that might be the right call. Perry would have a tough time drawing support even from GOP voters in his own state.

Perry polled near the back of the field among a slate of possible GOP contenders, coming in at just 4%, tying him with former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Sarah Palin came out on top at 12%, while Newt Gingrich trailed at 11%, and Mike Huckabee -- who announced last week that he wouldn't run -- and Ron Paul tied at 10%. Mitt Romney and Michelle Bachmann both garnered 7% of the vote, and Donald Trump earned 6%.

Only Rick Santorum (3%), Jon Huntsman (1%) and Mitch Daniels (1%) came in behind Perry.

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NY-26

Dem Hochul Leads By Six Points In NY-26 Special Election

Jon Terbush | May 23, 2011, 9:22AM

NY-26 Congressional Candidates Jane Corwin (R) and Kathy Hochul (D).

One day ahead of a special congressional election to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Chris Lee (R) in a traditionally red district, a new PPP poll finds Democrat Kathy Hochul on top by six points.

Among likely voters, Hochul came in at 42%, followed by Republican Jane Corwin at 36%, and Tea Party candidate Jack Davis at 13%.

Democrats have sought to use the election as a referendum on the Republican plan to privatize Medicare, a plan that polls have shown is politically poisonous. Hochul has repeatedly slammed Corwin for saying she would support the Ryan plan, and Democratic group House Majority PAC ran ads also targeting Corwin's avowed backing of that plan.

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