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December 3, 2007
Election 2008: A (Democrat) Primer Before the Primary
With two months left until the Feb. 5 California Primary and 31 days until the Iowa Caucus, candidates from both parties are in full election cycle mode as they try to convince voters of their cause.
As we countdown to the Jan. 31 caucus and the CA. Primary, let's take a look at each candidate from the parties in a primer that is not intended to be complete but is meant to offer a brief glimpse into who you might want to support come February. In the coming weeks, we'll profile different candidates and offer a more complete look into who is vying to be the leader of the free world. All poll numbers listed are from Pollster.com, unless otherwise noted, and are current as of Nov. 29.
Today, we'll look at the Democrats, who are getting ready to have a debate tomorrow at 11 a.m. from Des Moines, Iowa, which is co-produced by NPR and Iowa Public Radio. You can listen via 89.3, KPCC
Wednesday, we'll take a gander at the Grand Ole Party of the Republicans.
Age: 65
Current or Immediate Past Position: Senator from Delaware
Where He Stands Now: It's not looking good for Biden in California who is now polling at 1.6%. He currently trails four candidates- Clinton, Obama, Edwards and Richardson and one non-candidate-Al Gore, who is at 23.5%. In Iowa, Biden still stands fourth among the candidates at 4.5% according to Pollster, but third according to an AEG poll, which puts him ahead of Richardson at 8%. Nationally, he's fourth at 2.6%.
Age: 60
Current or Immediate Past Position: Senator from New York
Where She Stands Now: Sen. Clinton has consistently polled at the top of the heap in this current crop of candidates. In California, she now counts no more than half of registered Democrats for support at 53%. In Iowa, though, it's a different picture. In the wake of an unleashed Obama, Clinton is losing some ground as she is just two percentage points above to the Illinois Senator at 28.4%, Nationally, she is feeling more secure with 48%.
Age: 63
Current or Immediate Past Position: Senator from Connecticut
Where He Stands: Dodd has been unable to garner much national support. He sits at around 1% in all polls, but has raised over $13 million with support from Alec Baldwin, Barbara Streisand and others.
Age: 54
Current or Immediate Past Position: Edwards is a former Senator from South Carolina.
Where He Stands: Edwards trails Clinton and Obama in California, counting about 10% of support from Dems. In Iowa, the race is much closer as Edwards sits at 21.4%, about seven percentage points behind Clinton. Nationally, he is at 11.8%, well behind both Clinton and Obama.
Age: 77
Current or Immediate Past Position: Gravel is a former Senator from Alaska.
Where He Stands: While Gravel doesn't get noticed much (having even been left off a recent MSNBC poll), he has been praised by a wide variety of figures, such as Ralph Nader, who said Gravel is like 'a fresh wind coming down from Alaska.'
Age: 61
Current or Immediate Past Position: Congressman representing Ohio's 10th district.
Where He Stands: While Kucinich is not considered a leading candidate (in the sense that he is not leading in any of the polls), he does fare well as a possible candidate. According to a recent Rasmussen poll, it's Kucinich 34% and Giuliani 46% and Kucinich 36%, Thompson 42%. He just has to get over that hump of, you know, his own party.
Age: 46
Current or Immediate Past Position: Senator from Illinois.
Where He Stands: Obama trails the juggernaut Clinton campaign in California. As mentioned, Clinton sits at 53%, while Obama is at 18.7%. But, in Iowa it's a different story, as it's a statistical dead heat with Clinton. She's at 28%, he at 26%. Nationally, it's Clinton 45%, Obama 24%.
Age: 60
Current or Immediate Past Position: Governor of New Mexico.
Where He Stands: Richardson's campaign sits solidly in fourth place in the Pollster California poll (3.8%). In Iowa, he polls around 9% and nationally at 3.2%.
If it looks as if the story is written about who will garner the nomination from the Democratic party, remember that in October, Obama trailed Clinton by as much as 10% in Iowa. Everything will change after Jan. 31, when some candidates could drop out which will free up money and support to the more top-tier Democrats. Stay tuned. If the past is any indication of the future, it's gonna be one hell of a fun campaign.
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The adjective is "Democratic." Thus, "A (DemocratIC) Primer Before the Primary" or "A Primer (for Democrats) Before the Primary." See how easy that was? But thanks for falling for the long-time GOP effort to change the word.
kisses
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Could this post have any less substance? A list of candidates, some polling data, and, for some reason, the candidates' ages. How is any of this supposed to "offer a brief glimpse into who you might want to support"? You don't talk about any issues that somebody might actually base their vote on. Instead, we just get some lame horse race analysis.
You say this post is "not intended to be complete". Well, mission accomplished!
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That may be a tad harsh, 'huh'... reads more like an electability analysis than a policy analysis. But yeah, it's a tad thin. Photos would've gone a long way for anyone not in the know. But that all said I was happy to catch up on the very latest polling in an easily-scannable format.
I must agree with 'NB'. It's subtle, but the GOP and its slimy tentacles in the mass media have pushed the use of 'democrat' over 'democratic' because it dents democratic candidates' poll numbers a tad and has an truncated sound that sounds kinda ugly.
Say it with me, everyone: it's the democratic primary, not the democrat primary.
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You don't talk about any issues that somebody might actually base their vote on.
maybe thats because all of the "front runners" aren't very different. none of them stood up to BushCo when it mattered, none of them are about serious change, and all of them are playing it safe.
now if we forget this malarkey about polls, what you have is Kucinich and everyone else. therefore huh's bellyaching should be more directed towards the candidates than to a blogger, who is at least getting the ball rolling as far as getting some hype going before this debate, because in reality there are several different versions of vanilla on that podium, and none of them are what America wants or deserves.
gore / paul '08
:)
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Jesus Christ, it's like I slapped your mother with a 12-inch ruler.
Listen up kids: this is a primer, read a very brief analysis of who the players are. In the coming weeks, I will try to provide an in depth analysis of each candidate in the run up to the primary. All of them. This was a start, the first step in a marathon.
I included three brief things to tell people who they are. Briefly. Their age is important because age is a factor this election (Obama is too young, McCain is too old, as some say). Their current/past position is important because of where they came from (Giuliani as America's Mayor and such) and their polling numbers tell the tale because, well, even if everyone knows Hillary is winning, they might not know Obama trails her by almost nothing in Iowa and Biden is in the race.
And, as to the democratic vs democrat debate, I hear ya. Really, I do. I did think about it, but it's the party of Democrat's, so I went with Democrat. I'm not an evil GOP octopus nor a slimy pollster with an agenda. I'm just trying to give people a brief synopsis of who everyone is before we get too deep in it. While some of you may be hip to what's happening on the campaign trail, others might not know their Richardson from their Gravel's.
This is something I can draw upon as I profile each candidate. As always, if you have something constructive to add, I welcome it.
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I look forward to hearing the kind of questions NPR selects. Hundreds of questions on various topics were submitted and I'd imagine these questions as incorporated by the moderators will come off much smoother than YouTube submissions of past debates. Also, according to NPR Web 2.0 maestro Andy Carvin, the debate will also be liveblogged by NPR blogger Tom Regan.
And the coolest part yet -- for someone like me who doesn't have cable -- this is an audio-only debate (radio, satellite, or streaming audio). And no Wolf Blitzer gobbledy-gook to boot!