View From the Cheap Seats: The Second Tier--How Paul, Kucinich, Richardson, Hunter, Dodd, et al. Are Doing

Elections are colorful, whether in Turkey or the USA
The view from the cheap seats: or how the lower echelon in both parties are doing these days. The new Rasmussen Poll offers little change among the second-tier candidates of both parties.

According to the Democratic poll, the second ranks look like this.

Bill Richardson attracts 4% while Dennis Kucinich is at 2% along with Joe Biden. Chris Dodd earns 1% and Mike Gravel is below that level while 12% of Likely Democratic Primary Voters are undecided.

Meanwhile, the backbench of the Republican side look like this:

Ron Paul is at 2%, Tom Tancredo at 2% and Duncan Hunter’s support rounds up to 1%. Seventeen percent (17%) are undecided.

The front-runners ebb and flow with the times. No matter how much each candidates' spinners spin, little is likely to change, barring some unforeseen events, until the primaries. For Republicans:

For the seven days ending October 28, 2007 show that Rudy Giuliani earns 21% of the vote while Fred Thompson attracts 18%. John McCain is the favorite for 14% while Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are tied at 12%.

The Big Three threatens to turn into the Big Two. Or maybe just the Big One.

For the seven days ending October 28, 2007, Hillary Clinton earns 44% of the vote. Barack Obama is second at 20% followed by John Edwards at 14%.

For the second tier, hope rests in someone else dropping out, raising more money than expected or picking up a powerhouse endorsement. Anything that can help build a little momentum and keep supporters flush with hope.

If Richardson, Kucinich, Biden, Dodd and Gravel pooled their poll supporters at this point, they'd ring up less than 10%--not as much as Undecided.

If Paul, Hunter and Tancredo joined forces they'd command about 6%. Of course, Mike Huckabee's recent jump to 12% would have helped. And it did: it gives them hope that they can make the jump also.

Sam Brownback dropped out and no one in the second-tier seemed to be the beneficiary.

There's a long way to go yet. The elections are still more than a year in the future. That there's that much time left is reason for the second stringers to hope all by itself.

by Mondoreb
[image:hsingy]



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