Saturday, March 05, 2011

Evangelicals' Choices for President (Hint: NOT Obama)

A new survey by the Barna Group shows that more Bible-believing Christians (as opposed to liberal "christians") favor GOP Mike Huckabee for president in 2012, while 94% of evangelicals consider Barack Obama unfavorably.

UPDATE 8/6/11: Texas-sized Prayers to God - Gov. Perry

UPDATE 7/29/11: Michele Bachmann Exposed as Christian by Liberals

UPDATE 5/21/11: Herman Cain: Christian Tea Party Candidate

-- From "Mike Huckabee Holds Strong Lead Among Conservative Christian Bloc" by David Gibson, Religion Reporter, Politics Daily 3/4/11

Huckabee, a former Baptist pastor, is strongest among evangelical Christians -- the 7 percent of the population that Barna defines by the strictest criteria of traditional faith and biblical literalism -- with an 88 percent favorable rating, followed by former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, with a 79 percent favorable ranking.

The field tails off considerably from there among evangelicals, with Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney -- who are widely expected to be among the first to throw their hats in the ring -- clocking 57 and 56 percent favorability ratings, respectively.

President Obama registers a meager 6 percent approval rating among this group, and an eye-opening 94 percent unfavorability rating.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Poll: Evangelicals have high views of Huckabee, low of Obama" by Michael Foust, Associate Editor, Baptist Press 3/4/11

The fact that [Huckabee] leads among evangelicals is no surprise -- he rode the wave of evangelical support in 2008 to a second-place primary finish -- but it does show that his base of support has not eroded.

Huckabee has led in several major polls examining Republicans' preference for the 2012 nomination:

-- A Gallup Poll of 1,326 Republican voters and Republican-leaning independents showed Huckabee at 18 percent, Romney and Palin at 16 percent each and Gingrich at 9 percent.

-- A Winthrop Poll of only Southern state voters listed Huckabee at 20 percent, Gingrich at 11 percent, Palin at 10 percent, Chris Christie at 8 percent and Romney at 7 percent. The poll surveyed 825 adults Feb. 21-27.

-- An NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll of 282 GOP voters Feb. 24-28 showed Huckabee leading with 25 percent, followed by Romney (21 percent), Gingrich (13 percent) and Palin (12 percent).

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Christian Preferences for 2012 Republican Nomination" by The Barna Group 3/3/11

In the most recent presidential elections, the faith communities of America have played a major role in electing presidents and other important public figures. Breaking down the survey data by more than a dozen religious segments regularly tracked by The Barna Group, the numbers take on yet a different contour. For instance, among evangelical Christians – the 7% of the population who are most concerned about moral issues (among other considerations) and are most involved in religious activity – the favorites are clearly Mr. Huckabee (88% favorable, 11% unfavorable) and Mrs. Palin (79% favorable, 21% unfavorable). There is less warmth directed towards Mr. Gingrich (57% - 37%), Mr. Romney (56% - 29%) and Mr. Paul (51% - 26%).

A larger religious segment – and a pivotal group in the last three elections and a group that is considerably less conservative than its evangelical subset – are born again Christians. Currently, the best favorability numbers from this group have been earned by Mr. Huckabee (58% favorable, 27% unfavorable) and Mr. Romney (49% - 33%). Mrs. Palin is somewhat less popular among born again adults (53% - 45%), while Mr. Gingrich struggles with this group (43% - 47%). Dr. Paul is generally viewed favorably by born agains, but is less well-known among them (39% - 31%).

Those who are from non-Christian faith communities generally like President Obama. His favorability rating among them is 61% positive, 38% negative. In contrast, not a single Republican potential candidate has a favorability rating that is more positive than negative among this faith audience: Gingrich (20% - 67%), Huckabee (30% - 59%), Palin (17% - 80%), Paul (31% - 53%), Romney (35% - 54%).

To read the entire survey results, CLICK HERE.

From "Huck tops Sarah in Fox poll" by Andy Barr, Politico 3/4/11

Sarah Palin . . . The former Alaska governor places third in a new Gallup poll out Friday of regular Fox News viewers’ choice for president.

Her 13 percent among regular Fox watchers ties her with Newt Gingrich and places her behind Mike Huckabee's 18 percent, and Mitt Romney's 17 percent.

“Given that viewership of the channel is common among Republicans, Fox News provides a unique opportunity for possible Republican candidates to raise their profile and increase their potential support,” wrote Gallup’s

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.