Rudy Giuliani Leads John McCain by More Than 2-to-1 in Race for Republican Nomination

ROCHESTER, N.Y., April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is now the front runner by a wide margin in the race for the Republican nomination for the 2008 presidential election, even though the first primary elections will not take place until February 2008. Giuliani leads Senator John McCain by fully 39 percent to 18 percent among those who think they will vote in the Republican primaries or caucuses. Former Governor Mitt Romney (14%) and former Senator (and movie and TV star) Fred Thompson (13%) are not very far behind McCain. The only other candidate with more than two percent of Republican preferences is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (9%). This Harris Poll surveyed 2401 U.S. adults online and was conducted by Harris Interactive(R) between April 3 and 16, 2007. This survey included 522 adults who expect to vote in a Republican primary or caucus and like all polls conducted well before an election, it should not be read as a prediction. Rather, it is a snap shot of the presidential "horse race", at a very early stage in the race. A previous column assessed the standing of the leading Democrats(1). Early in the survey, all adults were shown a list that included candidates in both major political parties as well as other Republican and Democratic leaders, and asked for whom they would consider voting. Among Republicans, Rudy Giuliani (59%) leads Colin Powell (46%), John McCain (40%), Condoleeza Rice (39%), Mitt Romney (37%), Fred Thompson (31%) and Newt Gingrich (29%). Among all adults, the rank order of Republican leaders is almost identical to the rank order among potential Republican voters. This is because none of the Republican leaders have exceptionally strong appeal among Democrats and Independents. At this time it seems that Republican candidates face an uphill battle against the Democrats. Overall 68 percent of all adults would consider voting for one of the listed Democratic leaders, compared to 59 percent who would consider voting for one of the Republicans.