Eerie parallels in race for White House
Posted at 12:28 PM
by Frank James
The Gallup Poll experts note that the structure of the Democratic and Republican presidential race look remarkably like mirror images of one another.
PRINCETON, NJ -- With no incumbent president or vice president running for the 2008 presidential nominations, it is perhaps not surprising that both of the major parties have competitive races, with multiple candidates jockeying for second, if not first, place. Still, the current outlines of voter preferences in the Republican and Democratic nomination battles are remarkably similar.
According to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll of national adults, conducted June 11-14, 2007, each race is characterized by a front-runner attracting about 30% of the potential primary vote nationwide, followed by two candidates garnering about 20% support each in a close contest for second place, and a slew of weaker candidates, each supported by no more than 11%.
Continuing the parallels, the race for second place in both parties features one announced candidate who has earned fairly steady support throughout the year (mostly failing to build momentum) and one unannounced candidate with growing support, just recently pulling into a tie for second.
And while Gallup doesn't mention it, those two unannounced candidates, Republican Fred Thompson and Democrat and former Vice President Al Gore, both have ties to Tennessee while the frontrunners in either party are connected to New York. Eerie, isn't it?
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