Poll: 58% of Republicans want more presidential choices

CBS

CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.

The nominating process may officially be underway, but Republicans have yet to enthusiastically embrace a potential nominee for president - and despite the late date, most would like to see other candidates enter the race, according to a new CBS News poll.

The survey finds that 58 percent of Republican primary voters want more presidential choices, while just 37 percent say they are satisfied with the current field. The percentage of Republican primary voters that wants more choices has increased 12 percentage points since October.

Mitt Romney, the frontrunner for the nomination, has struggled to break 30 percent support in state and local polls in an election cycle that has seen multiple candidates move ahead of Romney in the polls before seeing their support erode. In this national survey, taken after Romney's narrow victory in the Iowa caucuses, the former Massachusetts governor leads the field - though he holds just 19 percent support. Only 28 percent of GOP primary voters say they've made up their mind, and just 20 percent who've made a choice strongly favor their candidate. 

It's mathematically possible for another candidate to enter the race as late as early February and still win enough delegates to take the nomination, though some deadlines for candidates to get on state ballots have already passed, including those in delegate-rich Virginia and Illinois. A late entry into the GOP race would come with potentially-overwhelming obstacles, including the need to instantly build a national campaign apparatus and do the hard work of getting on state ballots in an extremely compressed time period.

The list of prominent Republicans who have announced they would not seek the presidency this cycle include Chris Christie, Sarah Palin, Mitch Daniels, Paul Ryan and Haley Barbour.

There is no candidate in the GOP field who more than one third of Republican primary voters say they would enthusiastically support if he were the nominee. Rick Santorum does best in terms of enthusiasm, with 33 percent saying they would enthusiastically support him. (Roughly one in two say their support for Santorum would either come with reservations or simply result from the fact that he is the GOP nominee.) Santorum is followed by Newt Gingrich, whom 29 percent would enthusiastically support, and Romney, whom 27 percent would enthusiastically support. They're followed by Rick Perry at 17 percent, Ron Paul at 15 percent and Jon Huntsman at 12 percent.

Despite their dissatisfaction with the field, Republicans are more enthusiastic than Democrats about the 2012 presidential election. Forty-one percent of Republicans say they are more enthusiastic than in past elections, compared to 21 percent of Democrats and independents.

Republicans are split on what they are looking for in a candidate: While 48 percent say they want someone with whom they agree on the issues, 47 percent say it's more important to nominate a candidate who will win in 2012. Romney is seen by 49 percent of GOP primary voters as the candidate most likely to win next November; no other candidate comes close.

Poll: Romney leads, Santorum surges into top 3

Candidate qualities

Santorum leads the pack when Republican primary voters are asked which candidate best represents their values, with 22 percent support. Romney comes in a close second with 21 percent support, followed by Gingrich at 14 percent and Paul at 13 percent. Santorum also leads on who will best promote conservative principles, with 29 percent support to 17 percent for Gingrich and 16 percent for Romney.

Romney dominates the field on the question of who would best handle the economy and unemployment, which voters consistently cite as their top concern. Thirty-one percent point to Romney, followed by Gingrich at 16 percent, Paul at 13 percent and Santorum at 12 percent. Last month, Romney and Gingrich were tied atop the field on this question at 26 percent each.

Gingrich dominates on which candidate would best handle an international crisis, with 35 percent support. Romney follows at 21 percent; no other candidate is in the double digits.

Santorum is the most popular candidate among white evangelicals, who make up 39 percent of Republican primary voters nationwide. He is also most popular among Republicans who call themselves very conservative, 26 percent of whom support him.

Romney dominates among self described moderate Republican primary voters, who make up one third of the GOP electorate. Twenty-five percent back him, compared to just 8 percent for Gingrich and 5 percent for Santorum. Romney also holds a double-digit lead among GOP primary voters unaffiliated with the Tea Party movement, while Gingrich and Santorum split support among the roughly half of GOP primary voters who align themselves with the Tea Party.

MORE FROM THE POLL:

Among GOP hopefuls, Romney fares best against Obama

Read the complete poll

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This poll was conducted by telephone from January 4-8, 2012 among 1,413 adults nationwide.

1,247 interviews were conducted with registered voters and 440 with voters who said they plan to vote in a Republican primary. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The margin of error for the sample of registered voters could be plus or minus three points and five points for the sample of Republican primary voters. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

[MrCoatsLibertyNow]

Any potential Romney supporters out there need to watch this before voting for him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2h8ujX6T0A

GO DR. RON PAUL 2012!!!

[userjohna]

Why is it only 58%? It should be lower unless folks vote against their interests.

[Wuggut]

It is looking more and more like this year the candidate will be selected at the convention. None of the current candidates will have enough votes to be the automatic winner by the time the convention begins. Hopefully, those attending can determine that none of the above is the right answer and find someone more capable of winning the election in November.

[PourpaixPourpaix]

Well, I must agree that if they elected Reagan or Nixon again, either would make a far better President than the clowns running now. Yes, I am aware both Reagan and Nixon are dead .... my assertion still stands.

[slatep]

Democrats would probably like to see more candidates running for office of the Presidency too.

ABSOLUTELY no one running for this office has what it takes to lead the US out of the crrent crises we face.

Lying, back-door deals, flip-flopping and immorality etc. are the only qualities these people have.

I keep saying; IGNORE all the debates and television ads and exercise your right to write in the name of the person you wish to become President.

Between lying, flip-flopping, talking out both sides of their mouths and mud slinging; at the end of the day the average person doesn't know which end is up.!!

[occupy_cbs]

Still waiting............

[tryhonesty]

RepubliCON Romney the ULTMATE FLIP-FLOPPER!

[MEW29]

If Santorum wins the Enthusiasm contest, that means 1/3 of Republicans think the way to solve America's problems is simply get rid of contraception, have more babies, get rid of abortion and welfare (so those poor babies can die young). In other words, 1/3 of Republicans are so brain-washed they can't see that their "solution" will only make the problems worse.
Maybe the Eisenhower Republicans should start a third party.

[gallamann]

Mew29, if a survey/poll bothered asking what weight republicans place on social issues versus stopping spending, reducing debt, repealing Obamacare, Dodd/Frank and excesive regulations. You would see 90% of us have zero interest in those positions.

Put another way, until we solve the major problems of this country, we are NOT interested in a conversation on any social subject.

[norcalruss]

Poll: 58% of Republicans want more presidential choices
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'd like to see more of the buffoons jump into the race. To make it a real three-ring circus Doosh Limburger, the Alaska Airhead, and the guy from Arkansas who looks like Gomer Pyle should jump in.

[phillyfanaticoldtimer]

Well, CBS is an MSM outlet so one wonders just who they polled. The two latest polls nationally have people by a 2-1 score, SCARED OF AN OBAMA VICTORY. The other part of the poll has 33% scared of more taxes ..under an Obama not a Pub Admin. So choices? Well, would voters want Rubio, Jeb Bush, Sarah, Rudy G?? All would be better than Obama but they are not running and will not be. It is the Dems who are mistrusted not the Pubs in almost all national polls. So frankly, supporting Newt, Mitt, Rick S would still give voters a chance to finally DUMP the horrid socialist progressive WH as well as the Reid Senators and the San Fran Nan House reps.

[jimbom121]

yawn...not sure your sources, but I doubt anything outside of WND or Newsmax used the word "scared" in their polling questions.

Do you really want Palin having access to the nuclear button?

[euge005]

I had to live in a state under little W as the Gov. He was almost as bad as the tea party thief we have now. Jeb took a surplus and turned it into a billion dollar short fall by giving it away to his cronies within a few months of taking office. Sound familiar? It should.

[casestudies]

Are these disappointed Republicans really looking at all of their options? Have they bothered to evaluate this guy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Roemer#2012_presidential_candidacy
He has a $100 donation limit, so he is very free of special interest influence that creates problems when trying to legislate and govern according to sensible public policy.

The banking deregulation and other policies that led to our current economic hardships resulted mainly from lobbying of both Democrats and Republicans. Isn't that reason enough to focus attention on such candidates.

The way some people talk about campaign finance makes it sound like it's literally impossible for voters to consider a candidate who does not have tons of advertising and endorsements. That is not literally true, especially because voters can use Google to easily learn about all the available candidates. But they will be right if voters don't bother to look.

I seems counterproductive to dismiss a candidate this early in the election cycle by saying "he can't win". We're supposed to vote according to our beliefs. We are not supposed to look at who other people support, and on that basis join in to support one of those candidates. This is no high school popularity contest where we're scared of not being in the "in group".

Some of us are not content to accept only candidates whom the influential people (whoever they are) say have a chance, nor to abandon those who allegedly have no chance. Some of us will not accept the usual bought-by-corporate-interests candidates who are presumed (so early in the campaign) by the corporate media to have the best chance of winning. ANY candidate has a chance of winning the Presidency if enough of we voters choose that person. The people we see on TV say who can win, but really WE decide.

[jimbom121]

Its a shame Roemer wasn't allowed at any of the debates.

[A_Canadian_Opinion]

These guys haven't even made it in and they've already got a disapproval rating as bad as Obama's.

[jimbom121]

Its worse.