One of the Bloggernacle’s favorite sports is discounting Mitt Romney’s chances of winning the Republican presidential nomination. Well, some people may need to get new sport soon.
Some interesting developments took place while Mitt was winning the Ames straw poll in Iowa:
1)Mitt has gotten a significant uptick in recent polling numbers. He was stuck at between 6 and 10 percent nationally, and three recent polls show him at 15 and 16 percent nationally, higher than McCain and in some cases higher than Fred Thompson. Check out the yellow marker underneath the poll results, which is an average of all the polls. Notice the upward movement.
2)Intrade Real Time Quotes indicate Mitt is a close second to Giuliani and ahead of both McCain and Thompson. These quotes are based on people putting their money on different candidates winning. More people are betting Mitt will win.
3)Mitt is still leading New Hampshire and Iowa and running strongly in other states, such as Michigan and Nevada.
4)This survey indicates Mitt is surging in South Carolina, where he had been stuck in single digits. He’s at 17 percent, ahead of McCain and within striking distance of Giuliani and Thompson.
My take: there is a lot of time until January and the Iowa caucuses and the NH primary. A lot of things can happen. But Mitt is running a masterful campaign, and the national numbers are beginning to reflect that.