Caffeinated Thoughts completed a non-scientific poll of our readership from May 1-8, 2015. Â U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) leads overall being first choice for just shy of 37% of those polled. Â U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) leads among Iowan readers with almost 29% saying he is their first choice.
Our overall results (1st Choice):
1. U.S. Senator Rand Paul – 36.8%
2. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz – 19.6%
3. Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum – 11.2%
4. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry – 8.0%
5. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal – 5.2%
6. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio – 4.0%
7. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee – 3.6%
8. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker – 3.2%
9. Former Neurosurgeon Ben Carson – 2.8%
10. Real estate mogul Donald Trump – 2.0%
11. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush – 1.6%
12. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina – 0.8%
13. (Tie) New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, and Ohio Governor John Kasich – 0.0%
Only 0.4% of our readers were undecided.
Cruz was the top choice among those in Iowa.
1. Ted Cruz – 28.7%
2. Rick Perry – 16.6%
3. Rand Paul – 12.0%
4. Bobby Jindal – 9.3%
5. Marco Rubio – 6.4%
6. Mike Huckabee – 5.5%
7. Donald Trump – 4.6%
8. (Tie) Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Rick Santorum & Scott Walker – 3.7%
12. Carly Fiorina – 0.9%
13. (Tie) Chris Christie, Lindsey Graham, and John Kasich – 0.0%
Most readers listed Paul, Walker and Cruz as their 2nd choice.
1. Rand Paul – 14.8%
2. Scott Walker – 13.2%
3. Ted Cruz – 12.4%
4. Rick Santorum – 8.8%
5. Bobby Jindal – 6.4%
6. Ben Carson – 6.0%
7. (Tie) Rick Perry and Marco Rubio – 5.6%
9. Mike Huckabee – 5.2%
10. Carly Fiorina – 3.2%
11. John Kasich – 1.6%
12. Donald Trump – 1.2%
13. Lindsey Graham – 0.8%
14. (Tie) Jeb Bush and Chris Christie – 0.4%
11.2% of respondents said they were undecided about who their second choice would be.
Our poll consisted of 250 participants who identified themselves as likely Republican primary/caucus voters.
Paul led among males with 44% (who consisted of 60.8% of those who responded to our poll). Â Paul edged out Cruz among female readers – 25.5% to 23.4%. Â Paul was the clear choice among those voting from outside of Iowa with 55.6% saying they stand with Rand. Â It should be noted that Paul surged among non-Iowans on the last day. Â As of midnight on 5/8/15 Paul was in 5th place overall with 7.3%.
Evangelicals/Born Again Christians made up the largest religious segment (which is is clearly our readership base) making up 51.6% of those polled. Â Paul also edged out Cruz among those identifying themselves as part of this group – 27.9% to 25.6%. Â Catholics were the 2nd largest religious group with 17.2%. Â Santorum led this group with 32.5%. Â Mainline Protestants were the 3rd largest group with 11.2%. Â Paul leads this group of readers with 32.1%.
Paul led among all age groups. Â In terms of political ideology, those who identified themselves as conservative (which again reflects the base of our readership) was the largest group with 65.2%. Â Cruz lead this group with 23.9% with Santorum in 2nd place with 16.6%. Â Libertarians were the 2nd largest group in terms of political ideology with 29.6%. Â Paul overwhelming lead this group with 85.1% of libertarians polled.
We would like to thank those who participated. Â We will complete another poll this fall leading up to the Iowa Caucus.