LA Times: Giuliani trails GOP rivals in key early states RAW STORY

Published: Wednesday September 12, 2007





Print This Email This The Los Angeles Times is reporting that although Rudy Giuliani still leads the other GOP presidential contenders in national polls, he is far weaker in several crucial early primary states. A new LA Times/Bloomberg poll shows Giuliani trailing Mitt Romney in Iowa and New Hampshire and Fred Thompson in South Carolina. However, none of the Republican candidates has inspired any real enthusiasm even among their supporters. In addition, the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that Giuliani's national standing has slipped from 37% in July to 28% today. # Excerpts from Los Angeles Times: Key findings about the Republican front-runners are: In Iowa, Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, posts a solid lead, with support from 28% of GOP voters. Giuliani and Thompson trail with 16% each. Arizona Sen. John McCain's faltering campaign drew 7% in the survey.

In New Hampshire, Romney tops Giuliani 28% to 23%, a lead that is within the poll's margin of error. McCain, who won the New Hampshire primary in 2000, is backed by 12%. Thompson drew 11%, showing little bounce from his splashy national campaign announcement via late-night television and webcast.

In South Carolina, where Thompson is hoping to trade on his Southern roots, the former Tennessee senator leads Giuliani 26% to 23%, within the poll's margin of error. The result is a reversal from a Times/Bloomberg survey in June, when Giuliani outpolled Thompson. Taken together, the results underscore that voters who have had the closest view of the Republican field see the race far differently than do voters nationwide. Link to full article.



