2008 Republican Presidential Primary
National Poll: Thompson 27% Giuliani 23%
Tuesday, June 26, 2007


The biggest question in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination is whether or not former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson can sustain his warm-up act once he becomes an actual candidate. The actor once did what many politicians could never imagine by walking away from a career in the Senate. Now he is on the verge of doing what few politicians can even dream of by entering a race for the White House on top of the polls for his party’s nomination.

Thompson, preparing to formally announce his candidacy, leads the pack in the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey with 27% support. That gives him a four-point advantage over former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani who is currently preferred by 23% of Likely Primary Voters. A week ago, it was Thompson 28% and Giuliani 27%. Two weeks ago, they were tied at 24%. Prior to that time, Giuliani had been on top in every weekly Rasmussen Reports poll for five months

Thompson leads Giuliani by 13 percentage points among conservative primary voters while Giuliani leads among moderates.

Among Republicans, 74% now have a favorable opinion of Giuliani. That’s down from 82% in late May. Twenty-three percent (23%) of Republican voters have an unfavorable opinion of the former Mayor. Thompson’s numbers among the GOP faithful have been moving in the opposite direction. Sixty-six percent (66%) of GOP voters have a favorable opinion of the actor while just 18% have an unfavorable view.

Among those with more strongly held opinions, Thompson currently has an edge --21% of Republicans have a Very Favorable opinion of him while 14% have a Very Unfavorable opinion. For Giuliani, those numbers are 18% Very Favorable opinion and 19% Very Unfavorable.

Another new poll shows that both men are competitive in general election match-ups with the Democratic hopeful from Illinois, Senator Barack Obama. Obama is currently second in polling for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

This week’s GOP poll also finds former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney earning 12% support and Arizona Senator John McCain attracting 11%. Romney is viewed favorably by 56% of Republicans nationwide and McCain is viewed favorably by just 55% (40% have an unfavorable view of the former frontrunner).

On Monday, McCain strongly denied rumors that his recent plummet in the polls might cause him to drop out of the race. Over the past month, McCain lost a net ten points in a general election match-up with Senator Hillary Clinton. McCain’s decline among Republicans is tied to his support for an unpopular Senate immigration bill favored by just 22% of all voters.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is atop the second tier safely behind the leading candidates at 3%. Six other candidates--Senator Sam Brownback, Congressman Ron Paul, Congressman Tom Tancredo, former Governor Tommy Thompson, Congressman Duncan Hunter, and former Governor Jim Gilmore—split 7% of the vote. Seventeen percent (17%) are not sure.

Rasmussen Reports releases updated polling data on the Republican nominating contest every Tuesday. Results for the Democrats are updated on Mondays. The current survey is based upon national telephone interviews with 587 Likely Republican Primary Voters conducted June 18-21, 2007. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. The Rasmussen Reports sample includes not only Republicans, but also independents who say they are likely to vote in a Republican Primary.

Rasmussen Reports continuously updates general election match-ups and other measures for all Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates. Also regularly updated are favorability ratings for Members of Congress, Other Political Figures, and Journalists along with public attitudes towards Congress, the War on Terror, and other topics.

Rasmussen Reports releases updated polling data on the Democrat Nomination Process every Monday and on the Republican contest every Tuesday. Results for the Generic Congressional Ballot are updated monthly.

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

The Rasmussen Reports ElectionEdge™ Premium Service for Election 2008 offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a Presidential election.

Rasmussen Reports’ Election 2006 coverage has been praised for its accuracy and reliability. Michael Barone, Senior Writer for U.S. News & World Report and co-author of The Almanac of American Politics, mentions, “One clear lesson from the Republican victory of 2004 and the Democratic victory of 2006 is that the best place to look for polls that are spot on is RasmussenReports.com." And University of Virginia Professor Larry Sabato states, “In election campaigns, I’ve learned to look for the Rasmussen results. In my experience, they are right on the money. There is no question Rasmussen produces some of the most accurate and reliable polls in the country today.”

Rasmussen Reports was also the nation's most accurate polling firm during the 2004 Presidential election and the only one to project both Bush and Kerry's vote total within half a percentage point of the actual outcome.

During both Election 2004 and Election 2006, RasmussenReports.com was the top-ranked public opinion research site on the web. We had twice as many visitors as our nearest competitor and nearly as many as all competitors combined.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.

Apple Juice Tantrum Causes Plane To Make Emergency Landing

POSTED: 5:59 pm EDT June 26, 2007
UPDATED: 10:38 am EDT June 27, 2007
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A child's tantrum onboard a Delta commuter flight forced a pilot to make an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport.

Chopper 10 was over the scene.

The forced landing was caused by a fight over apple juice.

A 4-year-old wanted apple juice and when the stewardess didn't get it quick enough, the child threw a tantrum, NBC 10 reported.

The Delta commuter flight landed around 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The flight originated in New York and was headed to North Carolina before the incident.

Passengers were spending the night in Philadelphia, NBC 10 reported.

Authorities said there would be no charges filed in the incident

The name "Iwo Jima" was supposedly misinterpreted by the US Navy.

...almost nailed it.)