Poll: Thompson shakes up GOP raceBy ALAN FRAM and TREVOR TOMPSON, Associated Press Writers
54 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Fred Thompson's expected entry into the
tight Republican presidential race is drawing crucial
strength from conservatives and older men, vaulting him
into the thick of the GOP nomination fight, an Associated
Press-Ipsos poll says.
The survey shows the top Democratic contender, Hillary
Rodham Clinton, with twice the support from women as her
nearest rival but dwindling strength among men. Her margin
over Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has eroded slightly since
the last AP-Ipsos poll in March.
-snip-That has helped inject Thompson firmly into the top tier
among GOP contenders in the AP-Ipsos poll, released
Saturday. It shows former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
with 27 percent; Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at 19 percent;
Thompson essentially even with McCain at 17 percent; and
former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 10 percent.
On the Democratic side, Clinton, the New York senator,
is drawing support from four in 10 women — a block that
accounted for 54 percent of the vote in 2004's key
Democratic primaries. One in three of her supporters cite
her experience, the most among Democrats.
-snip-