Do you guys think a CNN poll is as rigged as their debate was?

Post debate CNN poll:

Trump 24
Fiorina 15
Carson 14
Rubio 11
Bush 9
Huckabee 6
Cruz 6
Paul 4
Christie 3
Kasich 2
Walker 0
Santorum 1
Jindal 0
Graham 0

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2015/images/09/20/rel10a.pdf

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He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. -Jim Elliot

CNN dishonest? Say it isn't so!

It's probably a fairly accurate reflection of post debate reaction. CNN put the spotlight on Fiorina and she did well with all the time she got, though I didn't expect her to rise that much. I think her numbers will fall back to reality in the coming days/weeks. Interestingly, her gain seems to have come at Carson and Walker's expense, which means there's a group of voters just dating candidates right now and not that firmly attached to them at this point. Walker may be the next to drop out with the way his support has plummeted. Paul may be right behind him.

Considering how Huck was ignored in this past debate, he's doing well enough at this point of the campaign. Tied with the "surging" Cruz campaign, so that means we must be surging!

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Most people believe what they see, the Left see's what it believes.....

I honestly think Cruz is a major factor keeping Huck from "taking off". Huck's strategy seems to be to first secure the Evangelical vote ("religious liberty voters and socons") and then move on from there (I think his campaign kick-off hinted at what he wants to get at eventually). Cruz is still kinda blocking that way, I think?

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He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. -Jim Elliot

Carson probably more than Cruz is taking away natural Huck voters, but there's lots of competition for the same voters among the three. Fortunately there's lots of competition for the establishment vote as well, so it will take awhile for the field to thin out.

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Most people believe what they see, the Left see's what it believes.....

Having watched the debate, this poll is almost exactly what I would have expected.

Someone asked me a week ago who I thought was going to win the nomination. I was hesitant because things have been all over the place, but then I said that if I had to guess on that day, I would say Rubio. It wouldn't be my preference, but he was the most acceptable to the grassroots out of the 3 main establishment candidates (Bush, Walker, Rubio).

If I'm a political insider analyzing that poll, what catches my attention more than anything is Rubio picking up. Fiorina is not going to hold her place for very long. Once she comes under the spotlight she'll fade back. Carson will continue to slide, and Trump is not going to keep his position. But Rubio has the potential to keep climbing. If the establishment consolidates around someone then they become a powerful force to reckon with.

So what about Huckabee? He still has an opportunity. The closer we get to the Iowa Caucus the more I think Carson will drop, and I think Huck has a shot at those supporters. Bush, Walker, and Rubio will split up the moderate/establishment vote so 25% could win Iowa.

I don't think the evangelical vote in Iowa is going to coalesce around anyone until January so there's plenty of time. The key for Huck is working the ground game all over Iowa.

Well, no more Walker to split up the vote, lol!

Rubio could have been the presumtive favorite had he not been a big part of the Gang of Eight immigration debacle. That will always be a drag on him. Still not sure he has enough substance to get any higher than where he is. But who knows how this race will shake out.

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Most people believe what they see, the Left see's what it believes.....

I agree with you, but Carson shouldn't be considered for President in a serious way, that's why I often don't weigh him (and Trump) in my arguments, although I probably should

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He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. -Jim Elliot

I have to admit that these latest 3 or 4 national polls that have come out this week (Fox, CNN, NBC and 1 or 2 others) aren't very encouraging at the moment. It seems much of the Evangelical vote is gathering into the Carson tent. It's still very early in the contest, but as happened to Walker recently, low poll numbers lead to donations drying up. Not sure what else Huck can do to change things except hope people stop flirting with the new, unproven candidates and come back to one's with proven leadership.

This is really the problem with the way the first two debates were run. When the audience, most of whom aren't that politically involved, see certain candidates getting asked question after question and other candidates being ignored, the obvious thought that develops in their minds is that it must be that certain candidates are "top tier" and the ignored candidates are second tier, fringe candidates. And no doubt that's exactly how the media wants it to be construed. No wonder that Scott Walker, who got the least time in the last debate, is out and Huck is slagging in the polls. Even Cruz isn't doing as well as many would expect, and he got the 3rd least amount of time in the debate (Huck was 2nd to last in time).

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Most people believe what they see, the Left see's what it believes.....

They definitely are discouraging. Quite so. Huck has made it very clear though that he is in this for the long haul. He doesn't have a political future to worry about like Walker. And he has a cause that he is passionate about, more so than the Perrys, Carsons and Cruzes that are around. What we have seen this time around is that anything is possible. I would be content if a Huckaboom happens in January to sweep him to victory in Iowa. That will automatically eliminate lots of other "conservative" choices. Donations will start to stream in. Then there is a real chance. Until then he may have to "live off the land".

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He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. -Jim Elliot

Yes, this is disappointing, but it proves the point that the media is trying to control who becomes the next Republican candidate. And taking into account how liberal much of that media is, we should not be surprised that they will try to puff up the candidates most likely unable to win the general election against Democrats. And they will bring out lies and scandals (even imaginary ones) about the good and godly and effective conservatives. We see almost no coverage of Santorum. Where has he gone? And we saw what CNN did to Huckabee and Walker, giving them almost no questions or time in their debate. Three questions, an opening statement, and a couple of silly last questions. Six total times the camera was on Huckabee, compared to over 20 for Trump and Fiorina. They are able to manipulate, but we must pray for the opportunities for Gov. Mike Huckabee to get out his clear message and show that he is the candidate who has, by an actual record of experience, shown himself to be a D.C. outsider and power-broker outsider. His "American rage" speech at the Values Voter Summit had people on their feet cheering. This is not new with him, for he was almost alone in opposing the Wall Street and bank bailouts back in the last election cycles. He balanced his state's budget, lowered taxes, and did much more for Arkansas, but he has somehow (liberal media?) gotten an unfair label pasted on him of spender/taxer/moderate-to-liberal populist. I see Huckabee as the only true reformer. While Cruz talks about it, Huckabee gets things done. While Carson describes what a good and godlier America might look like, Huckabee has gone in to a very corrupt state (Arkansas) and turned out the crooks in charge and reformed it into a very "red" Republican conservative one. WHO else can say they did that?

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I've actually begun wondering if Huck isn't lying low in these debates right now on purpose. I know, I might just be wearing rose-colored glasses, but I could see him thinking that the current front-runners (Trump, Carson, and Fiorina) are likely to be pulled back down to earth eventually. Trump's act will wear thin, Carson's likely not ready for prime time and the more prime time he gets the more it'll show, and Fiorina talks a good game but has no record of accomplishment to stand on.

Although it's maddening for his supporters to watch, why attract a lot of attention to yourself at the debates this early in the game when Trump's still throwing roundhouses, and mostly getting away with it, at anyone who seems to be remotely threatening his standing in the polls and/or his performance in the debates?

At some point Huck's either going to have to start getting more attention in the debates or else creating it for himself, but there's at least a chance that he's intentionally lying low for the time being and saving his peak in the polls for just the right moment. He's successfully pulled it off before, so there's at least reason to believe that he's intentionally trying to do it again.

Here's hoping!

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I don't think Huck was "lying low" in the debates, he was just being deliberately ignored. And while one doesn't have to be ahead at this stage of the contest or even necessarily in the top 3, polling at 2 or 3% has a negative effect on money coming into the campaign. Huck doesn't need as much as some others to keep things going, but it's still a big concern for any campaign.

The GOP has threatened to not allow any candidate who appears in a non-GOP sanctioned debate from being in their sanctioned debates. Seeing as to how they essentially shutout many of the candidates by giving them so little time to talk in these debates, maybe it's time for a group of the candidates to set up their own debate (I'm sure a network would cover it considering the ratings these debates get) and tell the GOP to go.......well, I won't say what.

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Most people believe what they see, the Left see's what it believes.....

Not sure this poll is going to be included in the RCP average, but it is a little more favorable to Huckabee than most of the last polls have been:


Donald Trump – 26 percent
Ben Carson – 22 percent
Marco Rubio – 8 percent
Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina – 7 percent
Mike Huckabee – 6 percent
Ted Cruz – 5 percent
Rand Paul – 4 percent
Chris Christie – 3 percent

http://nj1015.com/poll-christies-an-insider-but-gop-voters-want-outsiders/

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He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. -Jim Elliot

Fox news now has Huck at a similar percentage - 5 per cent and tied with Fiorina. Just wish Cruz was lower.

Trump 24
Carson 23
Cruz 10
Rubio 9
Bush 8
Huckabee 5
Fiorina 5
Paul 3
Kasich 1
Christie 1

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2015/10/13/fox-news-poll-carson-giving-trump-run-for-his-money/

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He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. -Jim Elliot

Yes, Cruz concerns me most, with his donations from trial lawyers (he selected John Roberts for Supreme Court years ago, working as an attorney for some group). His wife has connections to Wall Street, I believe. Quite a bit of money coming in. And the Conservative Scorecard gives him their highest rating and Huckabee one of the lowest. They obviously are not being truthful or careful of what info they find or believe.

Still, I am thankful he is above Fiorina and Paul. Praying for a big bump for Governor Huckabee after the next debate.

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This is good polling news for a change!

Fiorina, as many of us suspected, is falling back to earth now that people are scrutinizing her record. Cruz picking up a bit, but one advantage Huck has against him is that a Bush or Rubio type supporter would likely switch to Huck over Cruz if it came down to the two of them. Carson remains the biggest obstacle for Huck both in support and donations. If I heard correctly, Carson raised 20M in the last quarter! Carson has been flirting with sticking his foot in mouth with some of the comments he's made recently, but Huck has to somehow win back a big chunk of the support Carson has right now.

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Most people believe what they see, the Left see's what it believes.....

Definitely. I'm really surprised Carson has lasted this long. You can usually count on debates to winnow the field, but the limited time per candidate is a real double edged sword. Carson doesn't get much time to talk, so there isn't much chance to expose his unpreparedness. Our best hope would probably be for Trump to feel threatened and to start going after Carson.

CNN polls seem to be a bit more favorable toward Huck than others... and in this one, Huck is ahead of Cruz and Fiorina. Margin of error +/- 3%. This is still anybody's game, and all the pundits know it (though they may pretend otherwise).

Trump 27
Carson 22
Rubio 8
Bush 8
Huckabee 5
Paul 5
Cruz 4
Fiorina 4
Christie 4
Kasich 3
Santorum 2
Jindal 0
Graham 1
Pataki 0

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2015/images/10/19/rel11b.-.republicans.pdf

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He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. -Jim Elliot

Thanks, Peter, for a bit of more encouraging news!!!

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I don't like Huck's early State numbers at the moment, but at least nationally he is tied together with Cruz & Co.

Carson 26
Trump 22
Rubio 8
Bush 7
Fiorina 7
Huckabee 4
Cruz 4
Paul 4
Kasich 4
Christie 1
Graham 2
Santorum 1
Jindal 0

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbsnyt-poll-ben-carson-edges-out-donald-trump/
Pataki 0

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He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. -Jim Elliot