Wednesday, May 09, 2012

George Allen heading into GOP Primary with 62% support

June 12 is the Republican Primary in Virginia when the GOP decides who will represent them in the November U.S. Senate election against former Governor Tim Kaine (D).

Former Governor George Allen (R) continues to out-poll the field of four candidates that includes Jamie Radtke, Bob Marshall, and E.W. Jackson. The latest polls show Allen at 68% (Public Policy Polling) and 62% (Washington Post).

Earlier this week Bob Marshall's campaign blasted an email boasting, "Marshall Surging!" For someone who didn't enter the race until the eleventh hour, I was curious to see what his definition was of "surging." Using the Public Policy Polling survey, Marshall has a 2-to-1 lead over Radtke (who began campaigning in 2010), and a 4-to-1 lead over Jackson ... so let's look at the numbers:
Allen: 66%
Marshall: 8%
Radtke: 3%
Jackson: 2%
So while Marshall can claim to be "surging" against Radtke and Jackson, it still leaves him far behind George Allen, as confirmed by the Washington Post poll:
Allen: 62%
Marshall: 12%
Radtke: 5%
Jackson: 3%
Also in this poll, 68% of self identified conservatives feel Allen is "about right" ideologically.

The bottom line is that Republicans are up against the Obama Machine in this election. Only a titan like George Allen is able to go up against their manpower and huge financial resource by pulling in big donors, rallying the grassroots A-Team, and drawing from his extensive knowledge of government and executive leadership as governor of the Commonwealth.

Mike Thomas, who is George Allen's campaign manager, has said since the beginning that the other three candidates are not the enemy.  While Radtke constantly flails away at Allen instead of Kaine, Allen concentrates on Kaine and the Democrats and does not attack his fellow Republicans. In the Roanoke debate, observers in the auditorium groaned every time Radtke threw yet another barb at Allen. As long as she's been campaigning, many are surprised she hasn't realized that tactic is not working. The polling numbers are proof.

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