GREAT SCOTT – AT 8:56 A.M. ET: Don't you just love the way the media went after Scott Walker as soon as he gained some traction in the presidential race? The mainstreamers will do the same to any Republican who's got a shot. But the press assault looks as if it's backfired. From Hot Air:
While the members of the press are busily congratulating themselves for having “gotcha-ed” Scott Walker on a variety of matters utterly unrelated to his ability to serve as commander-in-chief, the governor of Wisconsin is quietly consolidating the support of Republican voters ahead of 2016.
According to a new Quinnipiac University survey of the Hawkeye State, Walker leads a pack of 12 prospective Republican candidates ahead of the 2016 caucuses with a full 25 percent. This is the second poll to show nearly a quarter of Iowa’s Republican caucus-goers backing Walker. Last week, the GOP firm Gravis Marketing found Walker netting 24 percent support in Iowa with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Jeb Bush both coming in second with 10 percent.
This Quinnipiac survey also found Paul performing well with the support 13 percent of Iowa’s likely Republican caucus-goers, but he is competing with a much broader field for second place in this survey. Following Paul, Dr. Ben Carson and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee both secure the support of 11 percent of caucus-goers. With 10 percent, Bush narrowly escapes joining the rest of the prospective Republican presidential candidates in single-digit territory.
The Quinnipiac survey found Walker with an impressive favorability rating at 57 percent. Just 7 percent of those surveyed do not have a favorable opinion of the governor. Only Carson and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal have favorability ratings that compare to Walker’s. 74 percent of self-described tea partiers and 58 percent of evangelicals in Iowa have a favorable opinion of Walker. When it comes to the governor’s likability, there is virtually no difference between those who identify as conservative or somewhat conservative; 66 and 61 percent respectively have a high opinion of Walker.
“Walker gets 26 percent of men and 22 percent of women,” Quinnipiac’s release read. “Only 8 percent of caucus participants are less likely to vote for Walker because he does not have a college degree, while 82 percent say that makes no difference in their vote.”
COMMENT: Scott has two terrific things going for him – a spectacular record of success in saving Wisconsin from fiscal ruin, and a relentlessness as a candidate. I'm reminded of Lincoln's comment about Grant: "This man fights."
February 25, 2015 |