Thompson and Giuliani in tight GOP race (Poll)

Rasmussen Reports: Former Tenn. Sen Fred Thompson and former NY City Mayor Rudy Giuliani are still neck and neck in the race for of the Republican Presidential nomination. It’s Thompson 24%, Giuliani 23% and a lot of daylight between the frontrunners and the rest of the pack. Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney and Ariz. Sen John McCain remain tied at 12%.

At this point in time, the race for the Republican nomination hinges largely on questions about Fred Thompson. Many Washington insiders tend to dismiss Thompson for a variety of reasons, but it is not clear how well these insiders understand GOP primary voters. The next three months will probably give us a very clear indication of whether Thompson will sink or swim. If Thompson is still on top of the polls a month or more after he formally enters the campaign, he will clearly be the person to beat. One key challenge faced by Thompson is that some view him as a conservative alternative while others view him as a GOP establishment candidate. To win the nomination, he will have to be seen as a conservative. At this point, he is seen as the most conservative of all GOP Presidential hopefuls.

View by Republicans voters:
Giuliani: 74% favorable down from 75% a week ago; 23% unfavorable.
Thompson: 61% favorably; 17% unfavorable. At the end of June, those numbers were 64% and 12% respectively. 25% still don’t know enough to have an opinion one way or the other.
Romney: 56% favorable; 31% unfavorable.
McCain: 54% favorable; 39% unfavorable.
Huckabee: 3% favorable while six other candidates split 4% of the vote (Paul, Tancredo, Hunter, Thompson and Gilmore).
21% of likely Republican Primary Voters are undecided at this time. [Read More]

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