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CBSNews /

CBS/ June 18, 2009, 6:28 PM

CBS Poll: Majority Of Dems Back Clinton

Sen. Hillary Clinton has widened her lead in the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, according to the latest CBS News poll of Democratic primary voters. But more than one third of voters overall say they would definitely not vote for the former first lady.

In a hypothetical three-way contest, 51 percent of Democratic primary voters choose Clinton as the nominee. That's the highest percentage since CBS News started asking the question in the spring and an increase of seven points from September. Twenty-three percent back Sen. Barack Obama, while 13 percent support former Sen. John Edwards.

Sixty-four percent of Clinton's supporters say they "strongly favor" the former first lady, while 26 percent say they support her with reservations. Obama is strongly favored by 47 percent of his supporters, while 43 percent support the candidate with reservations.

If Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee, more than 70 percent of Democrats say they will consider voting for her or definitely vote for her for president. Only 6 percent of Democrats say they would not vote for her.

But among registered voters overall, 36 percent say they would definitely not vote for Clinton. Twenty-four percent would definitely vote for her, 21 percent would consider voting for her, and 19 percent say it's too early to say.

Forty-six percent of registered voters believe that if Clinton is elected, she will divide Americans. Forty percent say she will bring Americans together.

Though Clinton is a practicing Methodist, three out of four registered voters do not think she has strong religious beliefs. Even a majority of Democratic primary voters - 63 percent - say her religious beliefs are not strong. Obama and Edwards are thought to be more religious than Clinton, though none of the three is thought to have strong religious beliefs by a majority of those surveyed.

Clinton is viewed favorably by 43 percent of all voters, while Obama is viewed favorably by 38 percent and Edwards by 30 percent. Significantly more Americans say they are undecided or don't know enough to have an opinion about Obama (37 percent) and Edwards (39 percent) than say the same about Clinton (16 percent).

When former Vice President Al Gore, who has not entered the race, is added as a choice for the Democratic nomination, he emerges as a serious contender. Gore garners support of 32 percent of Democratic primary voters, while Clinton gets 37 percent, Obama 16 percent, and Edwards 7 percent. Gore is viewed favorably by 46 percent of registered voters, his highest favorability rating since October, 2000.


Read the complete poll results here.



This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1282 adults nationwide, including 1143 registered voters, interviewed by telephone October 12-16, 2007. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample, and the sample of registered voters, could be plus or minus three percentage points. 456 interviews were conducted with Democratic primary voters. The margin of error for this subgroup is plus or minus five percentage points.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved.
177 Comments Add a Comment
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okinup says:
If Hillary wins I''m gonna go live in a treehouse in Wisconsin with just my ipod and a can of pickles.
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katg21 says:
WHY!!!
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usaprophet says:
Unlike Hitlery and most of the other GOP candidates, Ron Paul actually served his country as a member of the military. Paul grew up in the western Pennsylvania town of Green Tree. His father, the son of a German immigrant, ran a small dairy company. Sports were big around there and Paul was a terrific athlete, winning a state track meet in the 220 and excelling at football and baseball. After medical school at Duke, Paul joined the Air Force, where he served as a flight surgeon, tending to the ear, nose and throat ailments of pilots, and traveling to Iran, Ethiopia and elsewhere. "I recall doing a lot of physicals on Army warrant officers who wanted to become helicopter pilots and go to Vietnam," he said. "They were gung-ho. I''ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Paul is given to mulling things over morally. His family was pious and Lutheran; two of his brothers became ministers. Paul''s children were baptized in the Episcopal church, but now he attends a Baptist one. He''s been married to the same woman for 50 years. As a young man, though, he did not protest the Vietnam War, which he now calls "totally unnecessary and illegal." Much later, after the United States invaded Iraq, he began reading St. Augustine. "I was annoyed by the evangelicals'' being so supportive of pre-emptive war, which seems to contradict everything that I was taught as a Christian," he recalls. "The religion is based on somebody who''s referred to as the Prince of Peace."
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royalstar23 says:
If Hillary wins my party''s nomination, I for the first time in my life, will NOT vote for President. She has moved to far to the right!!!!!
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rowdytexan2 says:
That''s bull....Hillary said she was for ''sensible'' gun control. She never said take guns away from anybody. You people need to read up!

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sendreidpelo says:
iceboy is a clown who will always bring up his friends Mark Foley and Larry Craig - but heaven help you if you point at the MoveOn.Org''s party of Perverts - including Brenda, oops, Barney, the late, unlamented child molester Geraldine Studds, and who can forget Jane McGreevey - who scroooooed his unsuspecting wife too many times - and not in the right way.

Or Fat Jack Goldberg and Mark Leno out in California -who constantly try to push a Pervert agenda down the throat of the voters in that state - Leno unabashedly wanted to let child predators off the hook - that is, end police survelliance.

All from the MoveOn.Org Party, formerly the Democrats - all cowards, all liars, all racists, all bigots, all traitors - and all perverts all the time.
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sendreidpelo says:
Ron Paul is a joke - he''s like the moveon.org party formerly known as the Democrats. In fact he probably would be happier there, along with that weasel Jimmy Webb...who ironically votes GOP on ILLEGAL Alien issues and supported Petraeus - I''m sure that chapped Prunefaced Cowardly Reid''s hide.

I was listening to Dennis Prager yesterday. Prager''s a former Lib who got wise, I guess you might call him a Neo-Conservative since unlike the stooges currently running the MoveOn.Org Party he didn''t buy the Stalinist and then the Islamofascist line.

He hit it on the nail when he said that those who are screaming "Fascist", calling Bush another Hitler, and ranting Sieg Heil are usually the Nazis themselves. Namely those who hate Jews and love Hamas, Blame America for the world''s woes, say we committed an act of "aggression" going into Iraq, and could care less about the moral decay we face.

Sounds like the Left Nazis who regularly post here - the Clinton or Obama supporters who with almost no exceptions like to blame the Jews.

I am quite sure that the monkeys and hyenas (an unwashed, brainless insult to those animals) will be spewing and vomiting quite soon. But enjoy the truth, Hitler lovers - that''s you who blame Bush and the Jews, and wish to appease Islamohitlerites - like yourself.
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usaprophet says:
Unlike the so-called GOP frontrunner, Guliani, Dr. Paul fights for the right of an innocent, unborn child. He believes the right to life is at the heart of the American ideals of liberty. His professional and legislative record demonstrates his strong commitment to this pro-life principle. In 40 years of medical practice, he never once considered performing an abortion, nor did he ever find abortion necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman. In Congress, he authored legislation that seeks to define life as beginning at conception (HR 1094). He is also the prime sponsor of HR 300, which would negate the effect of Roe v Wade by removing the ability of federal courts to interfere with state legislation to protect life. This is a practical, direct approach to ending federal court tyranny which threatens our constitutional republic and has caused the deaths of 45 million of the unborn. He also authored HR 1095, which prevents federal funds to be used for population control. Many other GOP candidates, except Guliani, talk about being pro-life. Ron Paul took direct action to restore protection for the unborn. As an OB/GYN doctor, he delivered over 4,000 babies. That experience made him an unshakable foe of abortion. Many of you may have his book, Challenge To Liberty, which champions the idea that there cannot be liberty in a society unless the rights of all innocents are protected. Ron Paul respects the dignity of human life.
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tcoleman12 says:
So, how many of these campaign donors are going to be in her cabinet, Starleo? Of course she will have to pardon some of them first. Looks like the ChiComs are buying a presidency...
Oh, and don''t forget Sandy Berger. Gotta have him there so he can "clean the slate" for you later.
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usaprophet says:
Become part of this 21st Century political revolution and vote for Ron Paul. Get off your couch, put your remote control down, and become active in our nation''s political process. The Neocons, the Socialists and every other special interest group in this country are certainly involved. Therein lies the problem. Instead of being a government of and by the people, as The Founders intended, ours is a government by and for the corporations, political action committees, non-governmental organizations, labor unions, and a plethera of other special interest groups which are permitted to make unlimited campaign contributions, and thereby gain under influence over their political ******. Your average voter knows no such influence. In Congress, Paul is generally admired for his resistance to such influence, and for his lack of ego. They don''t call him Dr. No for no reason. He consistanly votes against pork-barrel spending. In a rice-growing, cattle-ranching district, Paul consistently votes against farm subsidies. In the very district where, on the night of Sept. 8, 1900, a storm destroyed the city of Galveston, leaving 6,000 dead, and where repairs from Hurricane Rita and refugees from Hurricane Katrina continue to exact a toll, he votes against FEMA and flood aid. In a district that is home to many employees of the Johnson Space Center, he votes against financing NASA. That''s a man with Presidential-like integrity and principles. Ron Paul has my vote.
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