Sarah Palin
“Her celebrity is a real advantage in fundraising and media coverage. She can be the Christian candidate, which gives her a formidable base.”
“Electable? No. Nominatable? Sadly, yes.”
Newt Gingrich
“Lightning could strike, but very doubtful.”
“But if he gets it, we are really desperate!”
Chris Christie
“It is really a two-man race between Romney and Pawlenty unless Christie gets in.”
“But it’s hard to walk back his own statement that ‘I’m not ready to be president.’ ”
Herman Cain
“His boldness and blackness excites Republicans. Could be the outsider who does surprisingly well. Has some money of his own, too.”
Rudy Giuliani
“Learned a lot from 2007-08 about national campaigns and issues. No one else has gravitas and heroism on their side.”
Methodology: In tallying the rankings, a first-place vote was worth 5 points, a second-place vote was worth 4 points, and so on. The Insiders index reflects the percentage of points that each contender received out of the maximum possible. For example, Mitt Romney scored an index rating of 88, meaning he received 88 percent of the possible 515 points, the number he would have if all 103 participants in the poll this week had ranked him first.
Also receiving an index rating: Rick Santorum and Jeb Bush, 2 percent each; Ron Paul and Paul Ryan, 1 percent each; Tom Coburn, Jim DeMint, Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, and “none,” less than 1 percent each.
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Who would be the Republicans’ strongest presidential nominee in 2012?
Democrats (100 votes)
MITT ROMNEY
June 2011: 27%
Jan. 2011: 24%
JON HUNTSMAN
June 2011: 25%
Jan. 2011: 1%
TIM PAWLENTY
June 2011: 20%
Jan. 2011: 9%
CHRIS CHRISTIE
June 2011: 11%
Jan. 2011: 2%
RICK PERRY
June 2011: 5%
Jan. 2011: 4%
Also receiving votes: Rudy Giuliani, “someone not in the race,” Sarah Palin, 2% each; Michael Bloomberg, Jeb Bush, Tom Coburn, Bobby Jindal, David Petraeus, Colin Powell, 1% each.
Romney
“Romney remains the strongest because frankly he looks presidential, knows business, and, out of the bunch, sounds reasonable. If America can elect JFK and Obama, the tent is big enough to fit a Mormon in it.”
“Republican establishment will need to grit their teeth and recognize it’s Romney or four more years of Obama.”
“He’s the only one with economic credentials.”
“He’s relatively road-tested, compared with most of the list. That’s useful to him as a candidate and may be a strong selling point in the campaign.”
“The strongest nominee may have the hardest time getting the nomination. Weak list, though: Looks like the [college prep] English class list at a small suburban high school.”
“Mitt Romney is their best alternative—they don’t have a good alternative.”
Huntsman
“He is the best natural pol, and he can appeal to moderates. Fortunately for President Obama, I don’t think he can make it through the primaries.”
“Although I think his time with Obama will stop him from being nominated, I think Huntsman would appeal to independents and conservative Democrats and could beat Obama.”
“All the positives of Romney without Massachusetts health care, and strong diplomatic credentials. Only downside is how his religion can break through the GOP Southern primary calendar.”
“Serving as Obama’s ambassador to China would be a big plus in the general.”
“He seems to be staking out ground as the ‘most electable,’ meaning least ideological. That may be bad primary politics, but it’s smart positioning if they intend to actually try to beat Obama.”
“He is a charismatic candidate who has yet to have his ideas hijacked by the tea party.”
Pawlenty
“Has a story to tell, both as a middle-class upbringing and as a successful governor; light baggage.”
“Comes from a pure swing state; has potential appeal throughout the battleground Midwest states; can run as a D.C. outsider.”
“In a close election, Pawlenty would probably carry Minnesota. Romney can’t say the same about Massachusetts.”
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