From the latest Reuters poll… former RNC Chairman and Virginia’s own former Governor Jim Gilmore. Not to mention, polling a mere 0.2% behind [1] John Kasich.
Huckabee 3.2%
Kasich 3.0%
Gilmore 2.8%
Fiorina 2.8%
Paul 2.1%
Christie 1.8%
Pataki 1.4%
Santorum 0.1%
Graham (n/a)
So here’s what gets me about all of this with regards to the second tier or “kids table” debates — Santorum still gets on stage. Graham gets on stage. Pataki still gets on stage. Paul and Fiorina get to go to the adult table…
…but Gilmore gets left out?
Now Gilmore at 2.8%? Doesn’t sound that impressive… until you see Kasich at 3.0% stacked with others who can’t even clear that bar.
Given Gilmore’s record on national security and the fact that he is precisely one of two candidates (the other being Graham) with military experience — and especially given Gilmore’s background in the intel community — don’t you think his voice probably deserves to be heard?
Probably time.
UPDATE: …and then there’s Pollster:
Some folks are critiquing the Reuters poll as inaccurate because it’s an online poll. Of course, it’s not an online poll — it’s a poll conducted online (big difference). While the modern day gnostics would like to throw dirt on just about anything they don’t understand, the bottom line is that polling, as with most enterprises, is an exercise in predictive modelling.
The more intersects you get, the more likely the poll is closer to some degree of ground truth (at least, at the moment the poll was taken).