The results of yesterday's Rasmussen Poll are very telling. It looks like John Edwards got a boost from the media coverage during the past week. But it appears that he is taking votes away from Barack Obama, not Hillary Clinton. Her support has been steady over the past five weeks, dipping as low as 34% on March 5th and as high as 38% on Marth 12th.
Continued...
The following graph illustrates the trends of the top three competitors:
Note how support for Obama dipped last week as Edward's support reached it's highest level yet.
Edwards is now supported by 17% in his quest for the nomination, up from 11% the week before. In fact, the 17% total is Edwards’ highest level of support to date.
The undecided voters appear to be shifting between Obama and Edwards. It seems to me that Hillary will win the Democratic nomination if both Obama and Edwards remain in the race... and that is not a good thing.
A separate survey found that 30% of all voters say they would definitely vote for Clinton if she is on the 2008 Presidential ballot. However, 46% would definitely vote against her. That 46% definitely vote against figure is higher than every other candidate except former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Hillary is in Gingrich country, and that will not bode well for her (or us) in the general election. However, Obama has an excellent chance of winning in the general.
Illinois Senator Barack Obama (D) now earns support from 25% of those likely to vote in a Democratic primary. That’s down from 30% a week ago.
However, prior to last week’s uptick, Obama’s support had ranged from 23% to 26% for five consecutive weeks. Separate polling released last week showed Obama leading former Senator Fred Thompson (R) in a general election match-up.
Obama is leading GOP "dream candidate" Fred Thompson in a hypothetical poll. But Edwards' presence in the primary will probably make it difficult for Obama to get the nomination. It's not good news for those of us who want a Democrat to control the White House.