Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
By Anjeanette Damon (contact) 
Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011 | 10:35 a.m.
Mitt Romney visits with voters after he speaking to a crowded room of supporters at the Henderson Convention Center on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008.
Public Policy Polling is out today with one of the first early presidential primary polls in Nevada, showing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leading the early Republican pack.
The numbers aren’t much of a surprise. Romney was the only candidate to build a campaign organization in Nevada in 2008. He still has a strong following of invested supporters.
Interestingly, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin trails him by 13 percentage points, dispelling some of the notion that Nevada is a strong tea party state. Palin is seen as incredibly popular with the Republican base in Nevada, but not necessarily as a presidential candidate.
Romney leads Palin 31 percent to 19 percent. Newt Gingrich is in a close third with 18 percent and Mike Huckabee has 14 percent.
Romney’s strong lead has some strategists speculating that the other candidates will skip Nevada’s early primary in favor of building organizations in South Carolina or important Super Tuesday states.
But, again, it’s early.
Romney has a head start and his Nevada political operatives tell me he will likely compete strongly here again if he decides to get into the race. That doesn’t mean any of the other contenders couldn’t build their own organizations to give Romney a strong run.
And if anything is a given in presidential primaries, it’s that much can happen to completely change the dynamics of the race multiple times before caucus day.
Probably the LDS/Mormon influence.
Romney would probably lead/win in Idaho also............but once the LDS polulation thins out, Romney will not get the numbers he sees in Nevada, Utah & Idaho.
The southerners will never go for an LDS candidate.
The scary thought is an idiotic clown like Palin could be a factor in the GOP races.........sheesh!
The teaparty bigots in South Carolina and New Hampshire won't vote for a Mormon, sorry Mitt. Maybe you could bring up the "ground zero mosque?" But I don't think that will work. Weren't you for "Romneycare in Massachusetts? and isn't Massachusetts a "communist State?"
Donald Trump might be running for president. He would make an excellent president. Way better than the Messiah of Hope and Change.
Trump - Hilarious !!!
Romney was the one who added the health insurance MANDATE when he did the law in Massachussetts, so that will rub the health insurance mandate haters the wrong way..........and a mormon has zero shot with the American Taliban segment of the GOP (evangelicals).
President Obama and Mitt Romney are in a statistical tie in the latest nation-wide polls by both Public Policy Polling and The Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, President Obama would beat Mrs. Palin, Speaker Gingrich and Governor Huckabee by double-digits.
Romney's track record of success is well-documented, and his executive ability is unassailable. Expect the vitriol and bigoted comments about Romney to increase, precisely because he is the GOP's best shot at taking back the White House.
Will the Messiah of Hope and Change run for president again? I don't think he can pull a fraud on the American people again because he'll have to provide all of his documents that he's spent millions of dollars to have hidden from public view with an army of commie lawyers and judges who coverup for the Messiah.
It should get really interesting as 2012 gets closer and closer.
Romney hasn't a chance. We all know what religious wingnuts do to us.
Not many will vote for a guy who wears Magic Underwear...
Romney does have executive experience, but from what I gather it isn't very impressive. Pailin, Gingrich & Huckabee all come with too much baggage. I think Pawlenty may be the best GOP option overall, given his record as a governor, but he does need to work on charisma.
Romney - The LDS religion will not play outside the intermountain west, and the evangelicals will have a hissy fit.....plus the evangelicals have their own guy in Huckabee.
Palin - She has her core supporters, but she is seen as a joke outside her close supporters. She would be mocked, exposed even further and become a comedy show.
Gingrich - Not sure if he has what it takes, plus his personal life will haunt him in a national election.....too many X-wives and leaves them when they get sick and on to the next affair. MCain had this problem also.
Huckabee - He will play big to the evangeical American Taliban segment of the GOP, which means he will do well in the south, but will lose steam in the upper midwest and far west.
Pawlenty - Might be the best option of the ones listed here, but needs to put some distance between himself and fellow Minnesota uberloon Michelle Bachmann, showing he isn't in the same boat with her, even thought they hail from the same state.
Obama - probably runs again, and if he can rally his base, he has a realistic shot at another term...especially if the GOP eat themselves and splinter into various factions led by the evangelicals, the teanutz, and the mainstream GOP........and if any 3rd party candidate emerges from one of the GOP splinter factions, then Obama's odds become better.
@Judy...
You are the only one that thinks he wears magic underware. I can tell you know nothing about mormons except what you heard from another person who knows nothing about mormons. I am so sorry you have to be so judgemental. Were you this judgemental about Obama, Reid and Pelosi?
Mormon = unclean leper to the national GOP.
The holier-than-thou bible thumpers would never say it out loud but the LDS is a satanic cult in their self righteous eyes. There's a reason the Book of Mormon (and the Quran) aren't sold in Christian bookstores and never will be.
The thumpers play nice in public but Romney doesn't have a prayer (pun intended) of a chance to win many of their votes.
Right now Romney looks like the only legitimate statesman in the bunch. But because a major faction of the GOP is bigoted, he doesn't have a chance in South Carolina. In fact, a gay candidate might have a better shot at winning South Carolina.
The only thing more incredible than that Mormon buffoon actually having credibility with voters here is that Huckabee is on the same list -- he's the one who said his first pick for vice president was the jesus. Or maybe it just proves Nevada's low ranking for smarts was accurate.
"The more you can increase fear of drugs and crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all the people." - Noam Chomsky
Its pretty sad to read the comments about not voting for Romney because he is Mormon-the same dopes saying it voted for Reid who is a Mormon also.
Laguna, you are completely missing the point. The ones who won't vote for Romney are Southern Evangelical conservatives. Democrats have no problem voting for Mormons (see Reid).
Its ironic that Mormons most vote Republican when a huge faction of their party is bigoted toward them. Meanwhile, Democrats see to have no problem voting for Mormons as long as they share the similar political views.
Isn't Mitt a Mormon? I wonder what heaven politicians go to according to the Mormon religion?
Agree with Judy. NO shot.
Killer...
GREAT quote.
Romney has created more private sector jobs, saved more private sector businesses than any other candidate.
Funny. Half of MA loves what Romney did, the other half hate him, maybe because he left after completing only one term.
Yes, he worked as the MA governor for his entire term for FREE!!!
MA had a huge deficit when he started, and he left MA with a surplus and balanced budget without raising taxes at the end of his term. He can't help it if they screwed up after he left.
The state Democrat controlled legislature wanted desperately some kind of Universal Health care program. He worked with them to create one that would work, similar to mandated auto insurance. It is estimated that 98% of the residents are now covered. It was within projected budget, except after Romney left, the state government had to make changes to the program and now it is costing them.
He compromised on some things in order to keep the state government working together and moving forward.
He has successfully and profitably managed large businesses, helped turn around large companies that were sinking and helped other companies get started, saving and creating thousands of jobs.
He knows and understands world economics.
He turned around a struggling 2002 Winter Olympics and made it into one of the most profitable Olympics in history. And only took a $1 dollar salary.
He is against federalization and big government.
He lives the example and believes in the importance of family.
He is for a strong military and believes the borders should be better protected.
The list of real positives is far greater than the supposed list of negatives.
Romney is too liberal. JOHN BOLTON for president. (He likely will not run, sadly)
Gas Passer
Here is a little lesson on our government: The incumbent president, ie the one in office, runs automatically. So the Republican candidate will be running against President Obama.
People will want a less divisive leader. Mormons spread hate and bigotry. I bet the one that emerges is not on the radar yet.
This race is not started yet.
Nick, I agree. Oh, and also, everyone named Nick spreads hate and bigotry. Grow up.