by Frank James
The narrative following the Republican presidential debate in St. Petersburg, Fla. has been that the greatest beneficiary of the debate was former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Here’s one more piece of evidence supporting that storyline.
HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion showed segments of the Wednesday night debate to 637 Republicans, Democrats and Independents. Using their MediaCurves technology, which is essentially the dial-testing of voter perceptions over the Internet, they found that Huckabee experienced the largest, post-debate bounce.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani remained the most popular of the candidates but the debate and its aftermath were clearly a case of Huckabee Rising.Here’s the HCD Research press release:
Support for Huckabee Increases Among All Parties After Viewing Debate
— Rudy Giuliani Remains the Favorite —
Flemington, NJ, November 29, 2007 – Results from a new national study among 637 self-reported Republicans, Democrats and independents indicated that if they were asked to vote for a Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani would be their choice.
The communications research study was conducted by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO), during November 28-29, to obtain Americans’ views of candidates after viewing segments from the Republican debate last night.
While viewing video segments of the debate, participants indicated their levels of agreement by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. To view agreement curves and detailed results, go to: www.mediacurves.com Participants were also asked pre- and post-viewing questions regarding the candidates.
While all parties favored Rudy Giuliani, support for Mike Huckabee increased significantly after viewing his responses to key issues.
If the Republican primary for the 2008 presidential candidate was held today, and you were asked to vote for a Republican, which candidate would you vote for?
Republicans
Prior to viewing debate segments:
Rudy Giuliani – 30%
John McCain – 7%
Mitt Romney – 12%
Mike Huckabee – 11%
Other candidate – 11%
More Top Picks Best New Balance Shoes For Flat Feet
Undecided – 29%
After viewing debate segments:
Rudy Giuliani – 28%
John McCain – 7%
Mitt Romney – 11%
Mike Huckabee – 21%
Other candidate – 9%
Undecided – 24%
Democrats
Prior to viewing debate segments:
Rudy Giuliani – 26%
John McCain – 16%
Mitt Romney – 7%
Mike Huckabee – 5%
Other candidate – 15%
Undecided – 30%
After viewing debate segments:
Rudy Giuliani – 27%
John McCain – 15%
Mitt Romney – 6%
Mike Huckabee – 15%
Other candidate – 15%
Undecided – 22%
Independents
Prior to viewing debate segments:
Rudy Giuliani – 26%
John McCain – 12%
Mitt Romney – 6%
Mike Huckabee – 7%
Other candidate – 13%
Undecided – 36%
After viewing debate segments:
Rudy Giuliani – 28%
John McCain – 12%
Mitt Romney – 7%
More Top Picks Best Magnifying Glasses With Light For Seniors
Mike Huckabee – 13%
Other candidate – 14%
Undecided – 26%