July 5, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Primary polling the summer before a national election has very little value in terms of predicting the ultimate nominee," Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports and 1986 graduate of DePauw University, tells the Washington Times. "They measure name recognition but tell us little of how the candidates will perform on the campaign trail or handle the spotlight. They also tell us nothing of how voter opinions will shift as the candidates become better known."
The report notes that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney currently leads the crowded pack of Republican presidential hopefuls, "though history suggests the early lead in the polls won’t necessarily make him a shoo-in at the ballot box," writes Seth McLaughlin. "Polling this far out from the first vote being cast can be a shaky
barometer for who will emerge victorious from the grueling primary process."
Rasmussen, a noted pollster and author of Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System and In Search of Self-Governance, tells the newspaper, "It’s worth noting that a very large segment of the GOP voter pool is looking for a candidate outside the list preferred by the D.C. establishment. In other words, the GOP base may be angry at President Obama but they’re not thrilled with Beltway Republicans either."
Access the complete text at the Times' website.
Scott Rasmussen co-founded ESPN with his father, Bill Rasmussen '54. Learn more him in this recent story.