INSIDERS POLL

Their Man Mitt

by James A. Barnes and Peter Bell

Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008


Q: If John McCain loses in November, who will be the front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination? 

78 votes
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney  55 percent
Nobody                                 15 percent
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush            8 percent
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour          6 percent
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich      6 percent
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee      3 percent
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin                 3 percent

Also receiving votes: Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, and Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, 1 percent each.

Mitt Romney

"Far and away."

Bloggers PollNational Journal has invited top bloggers to join in its survey of insiders for the Democratic and Republican conventions.

"He'll have money, an organizational head start, and the advantage of having gone all-out for the guy who beat him -- and didn't pick him as a running mate. Democrats nominate based on emotion, as we've seen again this year; Republicans nominate based on primogeniture. This year it was McCain's turn. If he loses, it will be Romney's."

"The economy will be in shambles after Obama and the Democrats raise tax rates: Mr. Turnaround Artist will be what the country will need."

"Of this year's contenders, only Romney will be considered a serious national candidate again. As for Jeb Bush, Republicans can only wonder about how history might have been different had Jeb been elected governor in 1994 instead of George that year."

"He has the money, he has the looks, and he came in second."

"Battle-hardened candidate -- and team -- who still has the biggest wallet and now the respect and admiration of voters and activists around the country as the best surrogate and foot soldier against the Democrats in this cycle."

"He had won their heads before. He is now making progress on their hearts."

Nobody

"The field would be wide open, with no apparent front-runner."

"Way too early to say, but Republicans may be looking for new faces."

"Someone no one is thinking of right now, because the GOP will be so decimated it won't be able to coronate, as has become the custom for the party."

Jeb Bush

"Romney will challenge him and lose. And Jeb will end up with the job he should have gotten in 2000."

Haley Barbour

"The base loves him. And his stewardship of Mississippi has bolstered him."

Newt Gingrich

"Hmm... Republicans [would be] out of all forms of national power, looking for an intellectual spark and strategic flair to get back on top: Who could pull that off?"

Mike Huckabee

"The best campaigner of the lot, but he will only succeed if he can finally learn how to raise some money."

Sarah Palin

"She is unique, has captured the affection of the party's conservative base as a true conservative, and has the national stage over the next two months to establish her credibility with swing voters. Do not underestimate her: She is a phenomenon."

We also asked prominent bloggers to answer this question.

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