Iowa poll: Walker leads GOP field; Clinton domination continues

Harrison Thomas By Harrison Thomas June 3, 2015

The governor of Wisconsin continues to do well with Iowa Republicans, according to the May 28-29 Townhall-Gravis poll of 364 registered GOP voters in the campaign to win the Hawkeye State’s Feb.1 caucuses.

Gov. Scott K. Walker leads a crowded Republican field with 17 percent of support among voters and with strong support with different segments of the GOP coalition, said Cherie Bereta Hymel, the managing editor of Gravis Insights, the Florida-based company that conducted the poll. The telephone survey of Republican voters carries a 5 percent margin of error. The survey was conducted using automated phone calls IVR technology.

Watch this video of Gov. Scott K. Walker in Iowa:

Walker is followed by Florida Sen. Marco A. Rubio, 13 percent; Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, 12 percent; former Florida governor John E. “Jeb” Bush, 10 percent and former Arkansas governor Michael D. Huckabee, 8 percent, Bereta Hymel said.

Michael D. Huckabee with Joe Scarborough on the "Morning Joe" set (Courtesy)

Michael D. Huckabee with Joe Scarborough on the “Morning Joe” set (Courtesy)

Huckabee won the 2008 Republican Iowa Caucuses with 34 percent of the vote. In the final tally, Huckabee finished second to the party’s eventual nominee Arizona Sen. John S. McCain III.

“In our Feb. 12-13 poll, Walker led the field with 24 percent, so he has come down some, but in those four months, other candidates have their own bumps from either a favorable news cycle or a formal announcement,” he said.

“Walker was at 10 percent in Iowa with Romney still in the mix in our Jan. 5-7 poll,” he said. Former Massachusetts governor W. Mitt Romney excused himself from the race at the end of January. “After Romney got out, Walker went up 14 points and has been consistently in the lead pack in Iowa and other states ever since.”

Among Republicans with guns in the household, Walker leads all others with 20 percent, followed by Rubio, 15 percent; Carson, 12 percent; Bush, 10 percent and Huckabee, 7 percent.

Among pro-life Republicans, Walker garners the support of 21 percent of respondents, followed by Rubio, 14 percent; Carson, 11 percent; Huckabee, 10 percent and Bush with 7 percent.

Among Tea Party voters, Rubio takes the lead from Walker with the support of 19 percent. The Florida senator is followed by Carson, 17 percent; Texas Sen. R. Edward “Ted” Cruz, 14 percent; Walker, 13 percent and former Pennsylvania senator Richard J. Santorum, 11 percent.

Richard J. Santorum

Richard J. Santorum

In the 2012 Iowa Caucuses, Santorum came in first in the popular vote. The former senator did not collect any delegates from the contest because the initial vote was non-binding and he was not adept at the post-contest process. The 2016 Iowa contest rules will bind the delegates to the results of the results of the caucuses.

In the Democratic field, former first lady Hillary R. Clinton dominates the field with 59 percent of respondents. Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders, a Socialist running as a Democrat, follows Clinton with 15 percent. Former Virginia senator and secretary of the Navy James H. Webb Jr., is in third place with the support of 3 percent of Democrats. The poll comprised a sample of 434 Democrats and carries a 5 percent margin of error.

Notes: Gravis Marketing, a nonpartisan research firm, conducted a random survey of 1,156 registered voters in Iowa regarding potential matchups [364 Republicans, 434 Democrats, and the remainder Independent/Other]. The poll was conducted May 28 – 29, has a margin of error of ± 3% [5% for the Republican Primary question and 5% for the Democratic Primary question]. The total may not round to 100% because of rounding. The polling method was done through IVR, with the raw results weighted by anticipated voting demographics.
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