Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Hillary: Strongest Dem In Key Swing States

Here are the results of two polls that don't seem to be getting much play by the Obama-loving media. They clearly show, as many other polls do, that Hillary is the Democrat best positioned to win in 2008.  The polls that are shown by the media show Obama and Edwards doing better across the board, in a popular vote scenario.  But Obama and Edwards do little to nothing to win states that weren't won by Kerry and Gore in the previous two elections.  As we all know, it is not the popular vote that will matter in November, it is the electoral vote.  And when you look at the two most important swing states---Ohio and Florida---it is clear that Hillary has the advantage.

Florida Quinnipiac Poll (full polling here):
-Hillary 48%      Rudy: 41%
-Obama 37%       Rudy 45%
-Edwards 39%    Rudy 43%

Although it is highly unlikely that Giuliani will be the GOP nominee, poll results are similar when the top Democrats are polled against McCain, Romney, and Huckabee.  Hillary beats McCain by 7%, Romney by 14%, and Huckabee by 15%.  Edwards and Obama either lose or win by a much smaller margin.

Ohio Survey USA Poll  (full polling here):
-Hillary 49%     Rudy 40%
-Obama 40%     Rudy 46%
-Hillary 51%      Romney 40%
-Obama 43%     Romney 42%
-Hillary 51%      Huckabee 39%
-Obama 43%     Huckabee 42%
-Hillary 45%      McCain 45%
-Obama 38%     McCain 47%

Sorry Edwards supporters, he was not polled here, but as is demonstrated yet again, Clinton can win those swing states; it would be much harder for Obama to do so.  And if these Ohio polls weren't convincing enough, Ted Strickland, Governor of Ohio, has said that Clinton has the best chance to win Ohio and also said he would campaign heavily for her.  

Another potential victory for the Democrats, if Clinton is the nominee, is Virginia, a state that has not been considered a swing state in years.  But, as a new Survey USA poll shows (available here), Clinton beats Giuliani 47-46, Romney 51-41, and Mike Huckabee 52-28.  In Kentucky, another GOP stronghold, Clinton also does surprisingly well.  She beats Giuliani 47-45, Romney 50-41, and Huckabee 49-39.  

So remember when voting on who's most electable, that it's the electoral vote that matters, not the popular vote.  So while Obama and Edwards may do better across the board with Republicans, they do not win over any states that Clinton doesn't, but Clinton does win over states that they do not.  

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

As I've stated before, I don't like Obama OR Clinton and will vote for neither candidate in November. It's a shame that a similar poll wasn't done with John Edwards. He's the Democrat's best chance at solidifying their core constituency which has been slowly siphoned off by Ralph Nader in the past couple of elections.

Ralph Nader himself has pretty much endorsed John Edwards message. In his own words, Edwards "now has the most progressive message across a broad spectrum of corporate power damaging the interests of workers, consumers, taxpayers, of any candidate I have--leading candidate I have seen in years....the key phrase is when he says he doesn't want to replace a corporate Republican with a corporate Democrat...it's the only time I've heard a Democrat talk that way in a long time."

Of course, he ain't the Iowa Register and his endorsement doesn't carry near as much weight in a conservative state like Iowa but whose endorsement would you prefer in the general election when trying to rally the Democratic troops? The voice of conservatism or the voice of progressivism? Which one will bring the "Ralph Nader" vote back to the Democrats?