Thread: Tancredo gets positive vibes in poll

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Tancredo gets positive vibes in poll
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News
August 23, 2006

Someone like Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo could do surprisingly well in the 2008 Republican presidential contest, a unique "blind bio" poll found.

With two years to go before the two major parties’ presidential nominating conventions, the polling outfit Zogby International decided to do something different this summer to gauge the strength of the would-be candidates.

The pollsters didn’t ask about candidates by name. Instead, they read brief biographies of various would-be contenders and then asked people to pick their favorites.

Tancredo, the Littleton Republican dubbed "Candidate J," finished fourth on the Republican side with 9.9 percent of the tally.

He finished behind "Candidate G," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, with 21.4 percent; Sen. John McCain of Arizona, 13.3 percent; and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, 11.2 percent.

The results, first reported by U.S. News & World Report, put Tancredo ahead of GOP contenders like Sen Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, 6.1 percent; Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, 5.8 percent; Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, 5.6 percent; Sen. George Allen of Virginia, 4.9 percent; Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, 4.3 percent; Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, 3.8 percent; and New York Gov. George Pataki, 2.8 percent.

About Tancredo, poll participants were told: "Candidate J is a four-term Congressman from a swing state in the Midwest. Candidate J is best known of being an outspoken critic of illegal immigration. He has also been highly critical of the Bush administration’s guest worker plan. Before coming to Congress, Candidate J was a Department of Education official under Reagan and George H.W. Bush and was president of a conservative think tank."

Tancredo spokesman Carlos Espinosa laughed about one part of the biography.

"Last time we checked, Colorado was in the West, not the Midwest," Espinosa said.

Some pollsters, including Zogby, categorize Colorado in the Midwest, like neighboring Kansas.

Tancredo has toyed with the idea of running for president in 2008 as a way to advance his agenda opposing illegal immigration. He has made exploratory trips to key battleground states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, although he knows he would have little if no chance to win the White House.

Espinosa laughed off the new poll.

"He’s focused on his re-election campaign now, if anything," he said. "We’ll see what happens afterwards."

The poll had some surprising results on the Democratic side. Without her name being mentioned, presumed front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton finished sixth in a bunched-up field led by Virginia Gov. Mark Warner.

About Clinton, a.k.a. "Candidate I," respondents were told that she could be the first woman elected president, and that, "Since being elected to the Senate, Candidate I has kept a low profile and often reached across the aisle, despite being a big name and polarizing figure before entering elective office."

Warner led all Democrats with 14.8 percent, followed by: retired Gen. Wesley Clark, 14.2 percent; Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, 12.2 percent; Sen. Evan Bayh, 11.1 percent; former Senator and vice-presidential contender John Edwards, 10.4 percent; Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, 5.6 percent; New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, 5.3 percent; former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, 4.9 percent; former presidential nominee and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, 4.9 percent; Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, 3 percent; and Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, 2.8 percent.

The poll, conducted in late June, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Strange poll, no names but only shows a brief bio. Well, the others ahead of Tancredo would show a lot of experience including military (like no-way McCain). Tancredo obviously did well based on the immigration and guest worker comments.

Tancredo has toyed with the idea of running for president in 2008 as a way to advance his agenda opposing illegal immigration. He has made exploratory trips to key battleground states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, although he knows he would have little if no chance to win the White House.

I don't like how they say Tancredo has toyed with the idea of running for president 'to advance his agenda opposing illegal immigration.' Makes it sound like he has a personal vendetta when in fact he is a true honest politician who deeply cares about the future of this country.

I like hearing these comments here and there about Tancredo running for president. Would be a dream come true to get excited about a candidate, a real honest human being with principles in government. What a concept eh?