USA TODAY GOP Power Rankings: Trump back on top
USA TODAY GOP Power Rankings: Trump back on top
By Paul Singer 7 hours ago
Perhaps the reports of Donald Trump’s collapse were premature.
The Donald returns to the top spot in our Power Rankings this week.
This is not necessarily because of a sudden surge in Trump’s momentum, but more a function of the close contest for the top of our list. The top group are closely bunched in our weekly survey of 30 experts; the distance Trump climbed from third place to first is really a matter of a few changed votes.
Trump continues to have a strong base of support. Social media sentiment is more favorable toward Trump than most other GOP candidates, said digital campaign expert Alan Rosenblatt. “Trump not only has a positive sentiment score, but he is mentioned more than seven times as many times as the second best — Rubio.”
In addition, former presidential candidate Herman Cain said, “Trump’s tax plan has helped him,” a reference to the plan Trump released Sept. 28.
Carly Fiorina lost some first-place votes and dropped to second place in our survey this week; Marco Rubio and Ben Carson tied for third.
Trump had 15 first-place votes, Rubio 6, Fiorina 5 and Carson 3.
After the top four, our survey shows a significant dropoff before getting to Jeb Bush in 5th place
Bush is “lagging as a potential consensus (candidate) for the center/right” said Doug Gross, a former GOP candidate for Iowa governor.
At political forum in Iowa last week, “The names most often mentioned as either (1) winning the eventual nomination or (2) bringing weight to the GOP ticket as the VP nominee were Rubio, Bush, Kasich and Fiorina,” said Iowa State University’s Dianne Bystrom. In addition, “Carson is still in a strong position to win the Iowa Caucuses.”
Week 6 rankings
1. Donald Trump (Last week: 3)
2. Carly Fiorina (1)
T-3. Marco Rubio (2)
T-3. Ben Carson (4)
5. Jeb Bush (5)
6. Ted Cruz (6)
7. John Kasich (7)
8. Chris Christie (8)
9. Mike Huckabee (9)
10. Rand Paul (10)
11. Bobby Jindal (13)
12. Rick Santorum (12)
13. Lindsey Graham (11)
14. George Pataki (14)
15. Jim Gilmore (15)
(Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5)
Participants in USA TODAY’s GOP Power Rankings:
Kristen Soltis Anderson, Republican pollster and author of The Selfie Vote
Henry Barbour, Republican strategist, Mississippi
Paul Brathwaite, principal, Podesta Group
Dianne Bystrom, director, Center for Women and Politics, Iowa State University
Herman Cain, talk show host and former GOP presidential candidate
Maria Cardona, Democratic strategist and CNN Commentator, The Dewey Square Group
Frank Donatelli, former RNC deputy chairman and Reagan advisor
Sara Fagen, partner, DDC Advocacy
Peter Fenn, Democratic political strategist, Fenn Communications
Denise Feriozzi, deputy executive director, EMILY’s List
Karen Floyd, CEO, The Palladian Group and former South Carolina GOP chair
Aaron Ghitelman, communications manager, HeadCount
Andra Gillespie, polling analyst and political science professor, Emory University
Nathan L. Gonzales, editor, The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report
Lilly J. Goren, political science and global studies professor, Carroll University
Doug Gross, Iowa attorney and previous Republican gubernatorial nominee
O. Kay Henderson, news director, Radio Iowa
Ken Khachigian, senior partner, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Carl Leubsdorf, Washington columnist, The Dallas Morning News
Deb Lucia, Topeka 912 – the Capital City Tea Party
Matt Mackowiak, Republican consultant and president, Potomac Strategy Group, LLC
Dan Maffei, former Democratic congressman, New York
Phil Musser, chairman, IMGE digital media agency
Margie Omero, Democratic pollster, Purple Insights
Jon Ralston, host, “Ralston Live” on PBS affiliates in Nevada
Craig Robinson, founder and editor, TheIowaRepublican.com
Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D., Sr. VP of digital strategy, turner4D
Dante Scala, political science professor, University of New Hampshire
Adam Sharp, head of news, government and elections, Twitter
Alex Smith, national chairman, College Republicans
Todd Spangler, Washington correspondent, Detroit Free Press
Kathy Sullivan, DNC committeewoman and former Democratic Party chair, New Hampshire
Special thanks to the Palladian Group for building our survey platform.
http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/...-rubio-carson/
