Conservatives just aren't feeling John McCain this year, at least not with two or three other options available to them.
In only one state — Connecticut — did he win self-identified conservatives, according to MSNBC's exit polls from the states that held primaries last night. He even lost, soundly, among conservatives in his home state of Arizona.
That's not to say he wasn't competitive in many of them, but he clearly has his work cut out if he is the nominee and wants to keep those voters in the Republican fold come November.
Here are the state breakdowns for first, second and third place in each state:
| MISSOURI | |
|---|---|
| Romney | 36 |
| Huckabee | 31 |
| McCain | 25 | GEORGIA |
| Huckabee | 38 |
| Romney | 37 |
| McCain | 21 | NEW JERSEY |
| Romney | 44 |
| McCain | 39 |
| Huckabee | 13 | OKLAHOMA |
| Huckabee | 35 |
| McCain | 30 |
| Romney | 28 | TENNESSEE |
| Huckabee | 37 |
| Romney | 27 |
| McCain | 23 | CONNECTICUT |
| McCain | 42 |
| Romney | 41 |
| Huckabee | 10 | ALABAMA |
| Huckabee | 44 |
| McCain | 29 |
| Romney | 21 | ILLINOIS |
| Romney | 35 |
| McCain | 34 |
| Huckabee | 22 | ARKANSAS |
| Huckabee | 59 |
| Romney, McCain (tied) | 20 | NEW YORK |
| Romney | 41 |
| McCain | 39 |
| Huckabee | 12 | ARIZONA |
| Romney | 47 |
| McCain | 36 |
| Huckabee | 9 | UTAH |
| Romney | 92 |
| McCain, Paul (tied) | 3 | CALIFORNIA |
| Romney | 48 |
| McCain | 32 |
| Huckabee | 12 |
— Stephen Dinan, national political reporter, The Washington Times
Comments (1)
It was a take-over of the party pure and simple. Don't let McCain tell you anyting different at CPAC tomorrow, when he's going to act like he's the true conservative. Give me a break. He's the candidate of the pro-abortion, non-churched, anti-war, Bush-critics in the party and out of the party. And these numbers tell the story. It will be a long four years in the wilderness for conservatives.
Posted by D. | February 6, 2008 5:31 PM