Each Has Less Than 20% Support & 27% Are Not Sure
UTICA, New York - While there is no clear-cut leader among possible Republican contenders for President, a new Zogby Interactive poll conducted Nov. 3-5 shows Republican voters may be looking for a fresh face, as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie leads a list of possible candidates with 19%.
Following Christie among Republican voters are former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 17% and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with 14%. The largest percentage of Republicans (27%) are not sure who they would support in 2012.
The table below shows preferences for Republican voters, all voters and independents.
Of the following, which Republican would you vote for in 2012 for President if they are on the ballot?
|
Candidates |
Republican Voters |
All Voters |
Independent Voters |
|
Not sure |
27% |
18% |
21% |
|
Chris Christie |
19% |
11% |
11% |
|
Mitt Romney |
17% |
11% |
12% |
|
Sarah Palin |
14% |
8% |
8% |
|
Jeb Bush |
6% |
3% |
2% |
|
Tim Pawlenty |
4% |
3% |
4% |
|
Mitch Daniels |
3% |
1% |
1% |
|
Haley Barbour |
3% |
2% |
1% |
|
Rick Perry |
2% |
1% |
1% |
|
None of the above |
5% |
14% |
23% |
|
Will vote for the Democrat |
2% |
29% |
15% |
Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Results among self-indentified conservative voters were very similar to those of all Republican voters. Christie also led among voters who were much more likely to vote for a Tea Party endorsed candidate with 26%, one point more than Palin (25%). Romney had the support of 12% among this group.
Pollster John Zogby: "Support for Christie shows that some Republican voters may be looking for a new face and believe that neither Palin nor Romney can defeat Barack Obama. Christie's stance against New Jersey public employees, including teachers, is popular with conservatives. As a Governor of a state with very strong public employee unions, he can actually do what Palin and Romney can only talk about. Christie has said he is not interested in running for President in 2012, but he or some other newcomer to national politics could have a real shot at beating out Romney or Palin."
The interactive poll of 2,185 likely voters was conducted from Nov. 3-Nov. 5, 2010, and has a margin of error of +/-2.2%. A sampling of Zogby International's online panel, which is representative of the adult population of the U.S., was invited to participate. Slight weights were added to region, party, age, race, religion, gender, and education to more accurately reflect the population.