New Poll: McCain and Clinton Leading
The early frontrunners in the presidential race in Oklahoma are Sen. Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side and Sen. John McCain for Republicans, but nearly 30 percent of the voters in both parites are undecided, according to a poll released today.
The Sooner Survey, conducted by the Oklahoma City firm of Cole Hargrave Snodgrass and Associates, shows McCain, of Arizona, had the support of 27 percent of the 300 registered Republicans polled in late April.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani finished second, with 17 percent, while former Sen. Fred Thompson, who hasn’t even said he’s running, got 12 percent. The rest of the candidates were in single digits.
Many have questioned Giuliani’s viability in conservative states like Oklahoma. He has supported abortion rights and some gun control measures. Republican Pollster Pat McFerron, writing in the Sooner Survey, notes that Giuliani only garnered the support of 10 percent of those describing themselves as evangelical Christians and only got support from 8 percent of those who say abortion is their top issue.
The undecideds on the GOP side totalled 28 percent.
McCain and Giuliani have made multiple visits to the state. Former Masssachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who got 7 percent in the poll, canceled an appearance scheduled for last month in Oklahoma Cith.
On the Democratic side, 27 percent of those polled didn’t have a favorite yet.
Clinton got 29 percent, followed by former Sen. John Edwards, of North Carolina, with 20 percent, and Sen. Barack Obama, of Illinois, with 15 percent.
McFerron says the Democratic race is a dead-heat among Clinton, Edwards and Obama when just counting the preferences of the most regular voters.
Meanwhile, the self-described liberals favor Clinton by a two-to-one margin over Obama, while the self-described conservatives favor Edwards by more than a two-to-one margin over Clinton, McFerron says.
Clinton has not visited Oklahoma yet. Obama, Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who got 7 percent in the poll, have made appearances in the state.
Edwards spent a lot of time in Oklahoma in 2004 and finished a very close second in the state’s Democratic primary that year.
Chris Casteel
Washington Bureau
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