The Iowa GOP Not Giving Up on Cain ~ 11/7/2011

So this past weekend I posted two race prediction posts for either an Obama/Romney or Obama/Perry general election in 2012.  Both showed President Obama doing fairly well in the face of strong head winds.  As a result, I got some flack from certain commenters on the DailyKos for painting to 'rosy' of a picture.  I want to state again that my race ratings and predictions are based on calculated averages of polling data based on the polls' recentness, sample size and the quality of the pollster.  The results which I reported on my posts are a product of these calculations, so if you are to believe the predictions are 'too left' or biased, I say...look at the state polls.

Now for today's daily (or almost daily) polling up date...


1) Obama Approval - Gallup 1500 Adults 11/4-11/6, 43% approve, 50% disapprove...Obama= +1% approval, +/-0% disapproval (net +1% Obama) 


2) Obama Approval - Rasmussen 1500 LV 11/4-11/6, 47% approve, 52% disapprove...Obama= +2% approval, -1% disapproval (net +3% Obama)


These are two pretty good results for the President.  Particularly, when one looks at the Rasmussen poll, Obama has his best performance (only down 5) since early August of this year, save one day in early October. What's even more interesting is that his strongly approve/strongly disapprove numbers are getting increasingly better, something that may show the Democratic base may be rallying around the President and picking up enthusiasm as we head into 2012.  

                                      My Average: 43.4% Approval, 51.9% Disapproval

For the states...


3) Iowa GOP Caucus- Insider Advantage 507 LV 11/3. 30% Cain, 15% Romney, 12% Gingrich, 9% Paul, 8% Bachmann, 6% Perry, 2% Huntsman


4) Iowa GOP Caucus- We Ask America 864 LV 22% Cain, 18% Gingrich, 15% Romney, 11% Bachmann, 11% Paul, 4% Perry, 3% Santorum, 2% Huntsman


A couple of things to note...

• Cain continues to lead...Everyone seems to believe that the sex harassment scandal will hurt Herman Cain; however, I continue to say, as I have since last week, that I don't believe this will have much of an effect on Cain.  The conservative media is rallying around Cain and painting him as a victim of the 'liberal media,' and let's face it there are many conservative men who may not care whether the accusations are true or not.

• Perry is sinking even faster...He is now in 6th place in both of these polls, behind Bachmann and Paul, yet the media still believe he will be a factor in the nomination because of his 'money.'  However, he's getting very close to Santorum/Hunstman territory which is not a good sign for his campaign, making Gingrich seem much more viable than Perry in many of the key early states. 

Iowa GOP Average: 22.3% Cain, 19.3% Romney, 10.9% Gingrich, 11.2% Paul, 9.8% Bachmann, 8.6% Perry, 3.5% Santorum, 1.7% Huntsman

11/1/11 - Tuesday Polling Update - Cain Continues to Ride High

Today's polls provide show us that Herman Cain's support may be a lot more widespread than we thought, and that Mitt Romney, while to most sensible choice is still having a tough time garnering support, even in his own neck of the woods.

Starting off, the President's Approval numbers seem stagnant this week, not moving much in either direction.

1) Obama Approval - Gallup 1500 Adults 10/29-10/31, 43% approve, 50% disapprove...Obama= no change in  approval/disapproval (net no change)


2) Obama Approval - Rasmussen 1500 LV 10/29-10/31, 44% approve, 55% disapprove...Obama= -1% approval, +1% disapproval (net -2%)


3) Obama Approval - PPP/Daily Kos 1000 RV 10/27-10/30, 42% approve, 53% disapprove...Obama= -2% approval, +2% disapproval (net -4%)


As I said, I think that stagnant is the best word to possibly describe the President's approval ratings.  Right now, they're not increasing; however, they are not sinking to the same level which they would in the dog days of the summer.  If the media picks up more on the implementation of the executive announcements which are beginning to be signed this week, and people get a better sense of his urgency with regard to boosting the economy, I see his numbers ticking up but very slowly.  Additionally, it seems that the White House is doing somewhat of a media blitz to inform people of the significance of the aforementioned announcements.  Also, the jobs number will be telling on Friday and could either inflate the public's mood or depress it depending on the number, I predict the former.

Now the state Republican primary polling...

4) Maine GOP Primary - Public Policy Polling 250 LV 10/28-10/31, 29% Cain, 24% Romney, 18% Gingrich, 5% Bachmann, 5% Paul, 4% Perry, 2% Santorum, 1% Huntsman

Once again, Herman Cain finds himself at the top of a state primary poll.  What's even more surprising is that it is in the North East, a region which many thought Mitt Romney had sewn up.  However, Maine, like New Hampshire, is a very quirky state and can have a lot more conservative tendencies, than say states like Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and of course Vermont.  While this poll was taken before the Cain sex harassment story blew up in the media, it is still very telling about the amount of support Cain has built up throughout the country.  It is also a definite hit to Mitt Romney.  Conservatives simply don't trust him to be an advocate for their policies and ideals, and as a result they are looking for another candidate to fulfill those needs, and right now Cain is their man.  Most seem to think that this most recent scandal will hurt Cain; however, I believe that it will not, and for one simple reason...conservative media.  Conservative media has rallied around Cain and see this story as another example of the liberal media elite stereotyping an African American conservative.  As with in most cases, I believe their flock will follow them, and Cain will not be damaged by this story, and if he is it will be only minimal. 

5) Maine Senate GOP Primary - Public Policy Polling 250 LV 10/28-10/31, 62% Olympia Snowe (incumbent), 10% Scott D'Amboise, 7% Andrew Ian Dodge

Snowe looks a lot safer than she has in the past.  I personally believe that if she has ONE conservative challenger, and the more conservative members of the Maine GOP rally around that person, then that person would give Snowe a run for her money.  However, it doesn't seem like that will happen at this moment, so as of now I would bet on Snowe being the nominee, which makes it VERY LIKELY that this seat would stay REPUBLICAN.

5) North Carolina GOP Primary - Public Policy Polling 474 LV 10/27-10/31, 30% Cain, 22% Gingrich, 19% Romney, 10% Perry, 4% Bachmann, 4% Paul, 2% Huntsman, 2% Santorum

This is the second time PPP has polled North Carolina since his surge in the polls, and his numbers have only increased.  I don't see this being a state in which Romney has a good shot at winning.  While the results of the primary may have nothing to do with who wins the nomination (it won't be held until May 8, 2012), the poll is still a good way to show the attitudes of southern voters, and once again, one thing is clear...they are not happy with Mitt Romney as a possible nominee.  Even more so, BOTH the Maine and North Carolina polls show that Romney isn't even the second choice for a large majority of those who claim to support Cain.  Most of these likely primary voters like Gingrich should Cain not be the nominee, and if Cain does implode it would be interesting to see if Gingrich could rally that support to his side and turn out to be a contender, even after the disastrous roll out his campaign had.  Even noting that Gingrich has a shot, says something really bad about the Republican party, and shows that they are not in a strong position for 2012, and that the person who would have the best shot at defeating Obama (i.e. Romney), is the one they like the least.