Ron Paul surges with TJ site viewers
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 5:07PM By Jonathan McFadden
mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com
Click To View Our Poll Results Seventy-eight visitors to The Johnsonian’s website voted in a simple poll that asked a simple question: “Who would you like to see as the GOP presidential candidate?”
Of the candidates listed, with former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and “other” included, Texas Congressman Ron Paul comes away with 37.18 percent in support from 29 votes. Current Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney comes in at second place, with “other” following in third.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who suspended his campaign on Jan. 19 and threw his support behind former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, came in last with no votes. The poll, created last week, features Huntsman although he dropped out of the race on Jan. 16.
Paul has met campaign success with younger voters, many of whom are attracted by his ideas on foreign policy, smaller government and personal liberty.
University students who have seen Paul’s speeches in person have also commented on the energy he exudes on the stage when rallying.
But in spite of his approval with the college-aged demographic, Paul’s numbers in numerous polls have been anything but robust.
A Wednesday poll released by ABC News shows that Paul garnered 16 percent support from likely Republican voters, a smidgen more than the 15 percent he won in a similar December poll.
Paul’s strongest constituency comes from independent and moderate voters who lean Republican, persons under the age of 50, liberals, those with a high school education or less and those who attend church services less than weekly, the results show.
His weakest support groups come from college graduates, Tea Party supporters, white evangelical Protestants and weekly churchgoers, the results show.
In spite of this, The Washington Post shows that Paul has the most Twitter mentions of any candidate (270,417 of them) and a Jan. 12 story by The State newspaper says that Paul is the most “Googled” candidate running.
Paul, whose campaigning in South Carolina hasn’t been nearly as aggressive as it was in Iowa or New Hampshire, made a stop in Rock Hill on Tuesday to speak with supporters at a Holiday Inn.
Thursday night’s debate in Charleston left Paul probably the least challenging of his contenders, as he was virtually ignored by his opponents and the debate’s moderators.
A CNN story examining the Charleston debate mentions Paul once and a campaign highlights rundown by The State shows that Paul was the most neglected candidate of the night.
On the eve of what is reputed to be the decisive make or break for Republican presidential nominees, Paul’s campaign schedule shows that he appeared in North Charleston, North Myrtle Beach and Warrenville giving more whistle stops than his opponents.
Whistle stops occur when politicians stop in small towns for small periods of time and give brief speeches.
Paul will rally in Columbia at 9 p.m. tonight.
Paul came away in second place in the New Hampshire primary and third in the Iowa caucus. South Carolina’s first-in-the-South primary is Saturday.
