X-post from Texas forum- Perry isn't leading nomination for president in his own state!

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-politics/2012-presidential-election/perrys-not-the-texas-frontrunner-uttt-poll-finds/



It's a good thing Rick Perry says he's not running for president — only 4 percent of Texas Republicans say they'd vote for the governor, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll.

"This is a major question for a guy who's getting national buzz," says Daron Shaw, co-director of the poll and a government professor at UT. "He hasn't convinced Texans that he's a presidential front-runner."

Not that he's trying to. Perry has said repeatedly that he's not a presidential candidate without squelching campaigns to draft him as one.

Perry's not even the top-rated Texan in the race. That distinction gos to U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, who's at 10 percent among registered voters who say they will vote in the Republican primary. The leader of the pack — and it's a narrow lead in a pack without a clear front-runner — is former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, at 12 percent, followed by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, at 11 percent, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, 10 percent. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota each have the support of 7 percent, followed by celebrity businessman Donald Trump, 6 percent; Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, 4 percent; former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, 3 percent; and Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana and former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah, at 1 percent each.

One in 10 Republican voters want someone else, and 14 percent say they don't know whom they'd vote for in a GOP primary held today. Several of the candidates on that list, including Huckabee, Trump and Daniels, have dropped out since poll was conducted.

It's still early, cautions Jim Henson, who teaches government at UT, runs the Texas Politics Project and co-directs the poll. He doesn't think Perry's numbers are a big deal. "At this point, he's clearly not seen as a candidate," he says.

Support for "red meat" Republican candidates on the presidential list is stronger among men, Shaw says. "Baby boomer women are a huge issue for Republicans," he says. "When they have trouble with those women, that's when they get wiped out in Dallas, that's when they win by 6 points statewide instead of by 12 or 14. You have to watch your flank, and that flank is women who are worried about education, about safety net issues, about the fabric of their communities. …They get concerned about gutting the whole thing."

Texas remains Republican territory, however. Asked how they'd vote in a general election for president, 30 percent of all registered voters who participated in the poll said they would vote to re-elect Barack Obama, and 48 percent would vote for the Republican — whomever it ultimately may be — in the race.

"Other than a pretty narrow band of true independents, we are settling into a very ossified, polarized politics here," Henson says. "We're seeing that in the Legislature, we're seeing it in public opinion, and I think we're probably seeing it around dinner tables and at family gatherings all over the state."

[Angry Dragon]

1. Kinda funny to want a guy as president that wants to form his own country

just saying

[GSLevel9]

2. lol... did I read that right? Palin's the top choice for Texas pubs? nt

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. You betcha! After the 2008 election many a McCain/Palin sign had his name cut off

They never liked him anyway, but would support him over Obama any day. Now these mangled signs just say Palin. This state has more than its share of Teabagger masochists in love/lust with Palin. I got in a conversation with one guy and the way he carried on about Teabaggers with Palin leading them, it was like his obsession of her (and her "fine rump"!) was some kind of sexual kink. It was more than a bit awkward and icky.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. The Republicans haven't groomed Goodhair to be President

I'm not saying he won't run. I'm just saying the powers in the GOP have no plans on his actually winning the nomination. Unlike with baby Bush, who I warned people of when he was Governor of Texas was going to be making a run at the WH.

I have a theory the only way they'll put Goodhair in is if they find themselves needing a person who is safe in their seat and embraces their radical wedge issues. That's the roll Goodhair could fill perfectly. He loves guns, god and hates gays and female reproductive rights. And he's safe to say all the over the top things needed to fire up their fringe without taking an ounce of political damage at home.