Perry Holds Huge Lead In South Carolina

Raleigh, N.C. – If there was any question that Rick Perry is the new Republican presidential frontrunner before now, PPP’s latest poll of South Carolina confirms it. A week ago, PPP showed Perry jumping to a narrow lead in first-caucus Iowa. Now, he has a double-digit lead in what will likely be the third-voting state.

Perry tops with 36% to Mitt Romney’s 16%, Michele Bachmann’s 13%, Herman Cain’s 9%, Newt Gingrich’s 8%, Ron Paul’s 5%, Rick Santorum’s 4%, and Jon Huntsman’s 2%. This is a sea change from when PPP last polled the race in June, with Perry not included. Romney led with 30% to Cain’s and Gingrich’s 15%, Bachmann’s 13%, and Paul’s 10%. If Sarah Palin joins the fray, it has no impact on Perry’s dominance but a lot on Bachmann’s standing. Palin would place third at 10% behind Perry still at 36%, Romney at 13%, followed by Cain’s 9%, and Bachmann and Gingrich tied at 7%.

Public Policy Polling

I’m not surprised by this result.  Perry filled the void of the missing southern Republican the moment he entered the race, but personally, I think he is going to go the way of Fred Thompson in 2008.  Thompson busted out on the scene in ’07 and was the talk of conservative circles as the one who could save the White House, but he fizzled out by the time the primaries rolled around.  Perry has only been in this race for a couple of weeks and all this fanfare surrounds him, but the guy simply hasn’t been vetted yet.  Once his weak stance on illegal immigration is brought to light as well as some of the other issues that were raised a few days ago, I think Perry fades as fast as a shooting star.

Another question in this poll, the result of which I found disturbing, asked voters in South Carolina whether or not they thought President Obama was a natural born citizen.  Only 42% answered yes.  Seriously, folks?  I thought we were passed this now.  The man produced the friggin birth certification.  Why he waited so damn long to do it, I don’t know, but he did it nevertheless.  Get over it and move on.  There is zero chance that Barack Obama will be found to be foreign born, zero chance that will be followed up by impeachment, and zero chance it will result in the annulment of every single bill he has signed, including ObamaCare.  If you want to turn back the clock on this man’s reckless policies then you’d better get in gear to defeat him in next year’s election.  Drop the “Birther” crap and get with it already.

Share

Read more at Carolina Politics Online