PRESS RELEASE:

Maxwell, IA. A nationwide Straw Poll of grassroots conservatives conducted by Grassfire.org has given Fred Thompson a nearly two-to-one lead over the closest challenger.

When asked whom they would vote for if the Republican primary were held today, 26% preferred Fred Thompson followed by Mitt Romney (16%), Newt Gingrich (14%), Rudy Giuliani (13%), John McCain (8%) and Tom Tancredo (7%). “The results were somewhat surprising considering Thompson has not announced his candidacy,” says Grassfire.org President Steve Elliott. “It appears the conservative base is not thrilled with the current candidates and is eager to give Thompson a chance.”

When asked who they think will actually win the Republican party’s nomination, Giuliani was the clear favorite (36%) among conservatives with Thompson taking a distant second (20%). At this point, the base does not expect Romney (18%) or McCain (14%) to gain the nomination. Conservatives overwhelmingly expect Hillary Clinton (50%) to win the Democratic nomination over Barak Obama (29%).

The Straw Poll also asked how grassroots conservatives would vote in a Giuliani-Clinton general election. While, as expected, conservatives favored Giuliani over Clinton (70% to 5%), 25% of conservatives indicated they would either abstain or vote for a third-party candidate. “This data reveals that an exodus from the G.O.P. by the conservative base is a real possibility if Giuliani wins the nomination,” says Elliott. “If one in four conservatives abstain or vote third party, it could throw the general election to the Democrat.”

For survey results details, Click here or go here:
http://www.firesociety.com/article/14468

Survey methodology: Grassfire.org conducted the survey May 7-25. All active Grassfire.org team members were invited to participate. 91,891 participated. The survey has a margin of error of less than 1% at a 99% confidence level for the Grassfire.org audience of approximately 1 million grassroots conservatives.

For more information about Grassfire.org, or to schedule an interview with Grassfire President Steve Elliott, contact Ron De Jong at 757-487-7900 or email ron@grassfire.org.