MSNBC’s “First Read” has bare bones of new poll numbers out of Iowa. Details of the poll, by Strategic Vision (a firm that polls mostly for Republican clients) are due out tonight, but here are the top numbers:
On the Dem. side:
Clinton: 29%
Obama: 29%
Edwards: 23%.
On the Repub. side:
Romney: 26%
Huckabee: 24%
Giuliani: 14%
Thompson: 10%
McCain: 7%.
The thing that impresses me most is Huckabee’s relentless climb into a virtual tie for first.
Look at Pollster.com’s list of all recent Iowa polls. The Huckabee trend is clear and strong. Even if you just look at back at previous Strategic Vision polls, in late September, it was Romney 30, Huckabee 8, Giuliani 17. In mid-October, 27-12-13; in early November, Huckabee moved into a solid second at 30-19-12, and now it’s 26-24-14.
But that’s a plurality.
The question is whether he’d be acceptable to anyone other than his supporters.
It’s like the reservations raised about Hillary, only more so.
Huckabee will definitely appeal to a core of know-knothings, but will at the same time turn off whatever moderates (anyone to the left of Genghis Khan) are left in the Republican party.
[…] Eric Black created an interesting post today on New Iowa Poll: Watch out for HuckabeeHere’s a short outline […]