McCain Hanging in There

     I’m going to refrain from expressing my personal opinion on this race, at least for now, and just look at the numbers.  Research 2000 recently did a poll on this race from March 29-March 31.  That was the most recent poll I could find.  I am unsure whether they are a reputable polling firm or not, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt.  While McCain leads 52-37, the crosstabs look even better for him.  I am 90% sure this is a Republican-only primary which will hurt McCain, but he still seems to be in pretty good shape.  First of all, McCain leads among both men and women, doing slightly better among men.  It was 54-38 among men and 50-36 among women.  Usually more conservative candidates do better among men, but I guess it’s not the case in this race.  One thing McCain has going for him is that his favorability among registered Republicans is 15 points higher than Hayworth’s (76 vs. 61).  They’re unfavorable ratings are similar, McCain’s is 19, Hayworth’s is 16.  While the Republican would probably win anyway, McCain looks to be the stronger general election candidate.  His favorability overall is 47-46 while Hayworth’s is 34-42.  While a 47-46 favorability rating is not so hot for a longtime Senator who was the Presidential nominee, Hayworth appears to be even less popular, and yet both of them lead any Democrat that was sampled.  Keep in mind this primary is the same night at the Crist-Rubio race, so political junkies will have a fun night.