Giuliani, 9/11 and the 2008 Race

How does NYC mayor's handling of 9/11 play among GOP voters? (9/11/07)

ByABC News
September 11, 2007, 5:22 PM

Sept. 11, 2007 — -- Six years after the terrorist attacks that vaulted him to national prominence, it's unclear whether 9/11 will lift Rudy Giuliani all the way to the presidency: He remains hamstrung in the Republican base, and his overall support for his party's nomination has slipped in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll.

Giuliani does better with Republicans who are concerned about another major terrorist attack in this country, a legacy of his 9/11 performance. But among those less focused on terrorism, he's in a dead heat against newcomer Fred Thompson.

Click here for PDF with charts and data table.

Click here for more ABC News polls.

Thompson also challenges Giuliani among conservatives and evangelical white Protestants -- base groups in the Republican constituency -- while John McCain has stabilized after a decline in support. Giuliani still leads, but his support is down by nine points in this poll from his level in July.

Indeed this is the first ABC/Post poll this cycle in which Giuliani had less than a double-digit lead over all his competitors: He now leads Thompson by nine points (and McCain by 10). Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 28 percent support Giuliani, 19 percent Thompson, 18 percent McCain and 10 percent Mitt Romney. Other candidates remain in the low single digits. (There's no significant difference among registered voters -- and plenty of time to register.)

The Democratic race, meanwhile, remains exceedingly stable; Hillary Clinton has led Barack Obama by 14 to 16 points in each ABC/Post poll since February, and still does.

Democrats remain more satisfied with their choice of candidates: Seventy-eight percent say they're satisfied with the field, vs. 68 percent of Republicans.

GOP GROUPS -- The Republican race, as noted, is closest in core Republican groups, which differ with Giuliani's positions on issues including abortion and same-sex marriage. Among evangelical white Protestants, Thompson has 29 percent support to Giuliani's 25 percent; among conservatives, Giuliani has 24 percent support, while Thompson's right there with 21 percent.