READ STORY HEREUnless you’ve been sleeping under a rock or swept up with grief over Michael Jackson’s recent passing you are probably well aware that Sarah Palin has resigned as Governor of Alaska.
“Palin is Bailin’ on Alaska” and other such smirking catch phrases are being greeted with equal measures of surprise on both sides of the political fence. Many on the Republican side are viewing her decision with shock and disappointment.
What path the soon to be former Governor Palin will choose or where she will land politically speaking rests heavily on her decisions in the coming weeks and months. Both Rasmussen and Gallup/USA Today meanwhile have gotten the jump on some polling to give a sense of what the electorate thinks about the woman and her unusual decision at present.
Recently polling a thousand individuals the results of the Gallup/USA Today survey suggest there are both reasons for concern and relief in Palin-Camp. 43% suggested that they are either “somewhat” or “very” likely to cast their vote for Sarah Palin in the event that she decides to run for President in 2012. While the poll does not go into depth on her chances of surviving a hypothetical field of Republican competition in that year’s primary it does help to suggest that there is a substantial pool of support for the former Governor.
On the other side of the coin however 54% suggest they are not likely to vote Palin in 2012 and even worse for Sarah are the number of those strongly against her (41%) more than doubling the number who would appear strongly for her (19%). Republicans show solid support for Palin but Democrats are aligned heavily against her. Furthermore the number of independents not likely to vote for Sarah as a candidate outnumbers those who would by a solid 53-44% margin.
Another positive coming for Palin supporters in this Gallup/USA Today poll may be the number of Americans who say their opinion of the Governor has not changed even with her resignation announcement. 70% are seemingly unfazed by this although those who now view her less favorably out number those who view her more favorably by a 17-9% margin.
It must be noted however that according to polls taken in recent months Palin’s favorable rating amongst Americans was not exactly stellar. In May CNN showed her drawing a 46-43% split between those with a favorable to unfavorable opinion, and Pew Research Center backed that up with a mid-June poll that suggested an even narrower 45-44% split.
Rasmussen Reports finds Sarah Palin’s decision to resign aiding to the further polarization of her image amongst the Republican Party and with voters nationally. She is running a competitive second amongst six prominent GOP potentials when the question of who Republicans would vote for in the 2012 primary. Her 24% support currently trails Mitt Romney by a single-point and is two-percentage points ahead of Mike Huckabee.
When asked the question of who they would “least” like to see win their party’s nomination however Palin ties Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour at 21% among Republican voters. Furthermore a plurality of Republicans (40%) think Palin’s resignation has hurt her chances at winning the party nomination in 2012 if she intends to seek it. 24% actually think the decision will boost her prospects, with another 28% saying it will have no impact.
It will be interesting to track what are sure to be more polls following the progress of Sarah Palin over the coming weeks and months. Barring what would be a surprise announcement that she is not in fact seeking nomination in three years, it should be quite entertaining as we move forward to watch Palin as she continues spar with the media, looks to court voters and restore her imagine with many in the Republican Party.
No comments:
Post a Comment