Even in Wisconsin, former Gov. Tommy Thompson ranks second in line for the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nomination, according to a statewide poll released Wednesday.
Thompson garnered 22 percent of potential GOP voters in a three-day, 800-person survey by Strategic Vision. Most national polls say the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary has 2 percent of the vote.
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani collected 26 percent of the state's GOP support, and 15 percent of respondents said they would vote for U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
University of Wisconsin political science professor Charles Franklin said Thompson's absence from Wisconsin's political scene and his inexperience at the national level may have swayed some poll participants from supporting the former governor.
"Most voters are looking at it as a national race," Franklin said. "I don't think it leads to a new perspective on the race [for Thompson], positively or negatively."
Thompson, like nearly a dozen other presidential hopefuls, may still emerge as a dark horse contender shortly before state primaries. Franklin said it is not uncommon for underdog candidates to ride the Iowa Caucus to a presidential nomination.
"I think for Thompson, who has got some regional strength, that makes sense as a strategy," Franklin added.
Members of Thompson's presidential exploratory committee, now based in Iowa, did not return phone calls from The Badger Herald seeking comment Wednesday.
Giuliani's lead is fairly consistent with national polls, Franklin said, adding McCain's support, at 15 percent, is "pretty low" compared nationally.
Thompson's home-field advantage, Franklin said, might have siphoned votes from McCain.
Similar to national polls, Democratic respondents in Wisconsin supported U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., over U.S. Sens. Barrack Obama, D-Ill., and John Edwards, D-N.C.
Though some call Obama the Democratic frontrunner, Franklin said the Illinois senator is still not a household name like Clinton, who collected 26 percent of the vote. Obama took 21 percent, while Edwards received 17 percent.
The statewide poll also gauged public opinion on President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Franklin said the poll's findings suggest Wisconsin voters are more antiwar and more anti-Bush than the average American.
Approximately 27 percent of respondents said they approve of President Bush's overall job performance, which is lower than the national average.
Forty-nine percent of poll respondents support denying funds to send additional troops to Iraq, higher than the national average.
