No more to say, Romney is leading in Michigan. It looks like the post-debate bump is continuing, and the second debate is just a week away. The poll:
Likely Primary Voters – Total
Mitt Romney — 24%
John McCain — 22%
Rudy Giuliani — 19%
F. Thompson — 8%
Gingrich — 7%
Others — no more than 2%
The general poll does give Romney the edge, though slightly. It really gets interesting when Independents are surveyed:
Mitt Romney — 36%
John McCain — 31%
Rudy Giuliani — 9%
Fred Thompson — 6%
Newt Gingrich — 3%
Romney still has the lead, but by a wider margin, and unlike the general poll where Giuliani also polls well, Giuliani falls far behind among Independents. All three canidates pull about 21% of the Republicans, but Romney’s ability to attract Independent voters clearly helps him. This is a factor, becuase Independents are allowed to vote in the Michigan Republican primary – meaning they could have a major effect on who wins.
It is also important to note that Michigan is a swing state – and claims a fairly large number of electoral votes (17). If Romney wins the nomination, Michigan could have a very big effect on the general election, in favor of the GOP.
The fact Romney is beating Giuliani in swing states like NH and MI should be trumpeted more by Romney’s camp. Giuliani’s still parroting the electability argument despite the evidence.