Rasmussen National Tracking Poll latest results

[BootinUp]

Dean 22%
Clark 18%

4 candidates at 8-9%

snip.....
January 13, 2003--In the final days before Iowa voters begin the process of selecting a Democratic nominee, Howard Dean and Wesley Clark are the top choices of Democrats nationally.
Dean attracts support from 22% of Democrats across the nation in the latest Rasmussen Reports tracking survey. Clark has been gaining ground steadily over the past week and is now the favorite for 18% of the nation's Democrats.

John Edwards, Joe Lieberman, and Dick Gephardt are each favored by 9%. Edwards, endorsed Sunday by the Des Moines Register has gained ground over the past few days, but remains far behind the frontrunners.

more... http://www.rasmussenreports.com/Democrats_Ballot_Preference_January%202004.htm

[maddezmom]

1. and 17% undecided

boy this is going to be a long horse race. thanks for posting :)

[HereSince1628]

6. I think a lot of it depends on which way the supporters break

after their candidates step out.

I think being attacked by everyone as the front runner has made collecting up such supporters more difficult for Dean. Edwards strategy which has made fewer "enemies" may work well in this respect...

But only time will tell, and until then let those ponies run!

[BeatleBoot]

2. With a + / - 4% Margin of Error

Its a tossup!

[Renew Deal]

5. Momentum will come from where the primary is front loaded.

If it is loaded with Red, Clark is better off. But the key is getting these other guys to drop out. That clears the patch for Clark vs. Dean.

BTW, Arkansas and Alabama vote late. Florida is March 10 (late).

Texas is pretty late.

[Padraig18]

7. Or a blowout.

That MOE can be made to work both ways.

[cally]

3. Does anyone have any ideas who the

Edwards, Lieberman, and Gephardt supporters will support if they drop out? I'm also wondering when various candidates will drop out. I'm am not ruling anyone out yet, but some campaigns will be dead after Iowa and NH. I know several are out of money. I'm hoping the field narrows before the Feb. 3 primaries to set up a more stark contrast between candidates.

[funky_bug]

8. IMHO

Edwards folk will go to the Dean camp. The googlie eyes, and the "Why I couldn't have said it any better" comments in debates b/w the two of them have assured that.

Lieb folk will probably go to the Clark camp. Lieb was "wounded" with the Gore endorsement of Dean. His people will go elsewhere.

Geph - anybody's guess, but my money is on Clark.

Kerry - now that's a toss-up. On one hand, the bad blood between them (fielded by the press coverage of the "Dean/Kerry war" would make it seem as if his supporters would run as far away from him as possible. But with the recent attacks and allegations against Clark coming from the Kerry camp, it makes for an interesting toss-up.

[cally]

10. I think you are mostly correct

I think Edwards will continue to stay out of the battle so maybe those voters will be a toss up. I still think Edwards could be a darkhorse candidate and be a surprise. I'm not ruling him out, yet.

[jmaier]

4. National polls

are more perception than meaning but they do tend to confirm that people are seeing this more and more as Dean vs Clark. I think that is exceptionally good news for Wes Clark.

[funky_bug]

9. Thanks for the heads-up!

I'm back in school and very busy... have to catch up on the race and DU on my lunch break! Thanks for the poll. Nice to see some indication that Clark is hanging in there.

[JI7]

11. the rasmussen poll should not be trusted

they have a horrible record and the methods they use to get the numbers are questionable from what i hear. i'm not saying you should ignore them or that these numbers are all lies, but i'm speaking from it's record. the rasmussen guy is a fox news guy also. so at least do a comparison with other polls when you look at this one.

[bearfartinthewoods]

12. Wow...Edwards has almost doubled his support in a week!!

Some recent polls show John Kerry and John Edwards competing for a second place or strong third place finish in Iowa. If either of these men surprises Dean or Gephardt, they could get a tremendous boost both nationally and in New Hampshire.