Gov. Bill Richardson is holding steady in Iowa and New Hampshire in two new polls, but his support in South Carolina is dismal.
The newest polls by American Research Group have Richardson at 9 percent in New Hampshire and 8 percent in Iowa, which puts him in fourth place in both states. His support in South Carolina, however, is only 1 percent. He’s tied for last place in that state and is well below the margin of error.
April polls done by the group had Richardson at 5 percent in Iowa and 3 percent in New Hampshire. Richardson’s lack of support in South Carolina has been consistent since he jumped into the presidential race in January.
Those three states are among the five that currently have presidential nominating contests scheduled for January 2008. Richardson has focused most of his time and almost all his money in Iowa and New Hampshire.
The newest polls each surveyed 600 likely Democratic caucus goers between May 23 and 26, so they were conducted before Richardson’s Sunday performance on NBC’s Meet the Press. Though I thought he held his own on the show, most pundits thought Richardson’s performance was mediocre at best, and Slate even said he “self-destructed.”
Each of the new polls has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The new polls reflect the growing support for Richardson shown by other polls in Iowa and New Hampshire. Earlier this month, two other polls had Richardson at 9 and 10 percent in Iowa, and another had him at 10 percent in New Hampshire.
The newest poll by the group has Hillary Clinton in the lead in Iowa with 31 percent, while other polls have shown John Edwards leading in that state and Clinton in third place.
That’s important because Clinton is leading in most primary polls in other states. Winning Iowa is critical to Edwards’ candidacy. He’s in second in Iowa with 25 percent in the newest poll. Barack Obama is in third with 11 percent – not too far ahead of Richardson.
Clinton leads in New Hampshire with 34 percent to Edwards’ 18 percent and Obama’s 15 percent. She also has 34 percent in South Carolina, while Edwards has 30 percent and Obama has 18 percent.
Most of the new polls released this month in Iowa and New Hampshire show Richardson within striking distance of the third-place candidate in those states. Another significant jump and he could be among the three frontrunners, instead of nipping at their heels.
Since the first polls reflected growing support in those two states earlier this month, Richardson has increased his advertising. However, the next polls will take into account Richardson’s Meet the Press performance and his upcoming performance at this weekend’s second Democratic presidential candidate debate in New Hampshire.
Gov. Bill Richardson is holding steady in