# Rand Paul Leading Clinton in Iowa Poll **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 9, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226 "2015-04-09T16:31:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/1 "2015-04-09T16:31:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s lead has disappeared against leading Republican presidential candidates in Iowa. Clinton has lost ground in almost every matchup in Iowa since a February 18 Swing State Poll by the independent Quinnipiac University. **She now trails Rand Paul 43-42.** … > > Iowa voters in Iowa say Clinton is not honest and trustworthy. Her overall favorability has dropped significantly in Iowa, but favorability ratings for the Republicans are lackluster, at best. > **[Latest presidential poll shows surprising new leader](https://www.kcci.com/article/latest-presidential-poll-shows-surprising-new-leader/6905493)** > > The latest Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released Thursday shows a new leader in potential presidential candidates. And “Voters are divided 50 – 49 percent on whether the e-mail scandal is important to their vote. While 37 percent of voters say they are less likely to vote for Clinton because of this issue, 58 percent say it will make no difference in their vote.” I find this result very surprising: I would have expected a huge number not even to have heard of Paul. Considering his strange views I just can see why so many like him–probably they don’t know what these views are yet. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/2 "2015-04-09T16:48:57Z")
Well, Paul has received quite a bit of attention lately so it’s no surprise he gets a bump. It’s a [Quinnipiac poll](http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/2016-presidential-swing-state-polls/release-detail?ReleaseID=2184) and that swings fairly reliably so I’m inclined to both agree and disagree with it. Q is a good firm, but doing horse race polls this far out is essentially pointless. The info about the emails is the greater takeaway. As before, it looks like most of Clinton’s negatives are already baked in and such things aren’t going to move the needle much. It’ll take one hell of a scandal to damage her seriously. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/3 "2015-04-09T17:33:27Z")
Well that’s certainly not good news, but the clown car that is the GOP primary season will damage them all to give any Dem a boost ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/4 "2015-04-09T17:37:04Z")
A one-percent lead, a year and a half before the election? This is just the break the McCain campaign has been waiting for! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/5 "2015-04-09T20:14:07Z")
Of much bigger advantage to the Draft Romney movement, which gains momentum every day! ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/6 "2015-04-09T20:34:11Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > [Latest presidential poll shows surprising new leader](http://www.kcci.com/politics/latest-presidential-poll-shows-surprising-new-leader/32273658) > > And “Voters are divided 50 – 49 percent on whether the e-mail scandal is important to their vote. While 37 percent of voters say they are less likely to vote for Clinton because of this issue, 58 percent say it will make no difference in their vote.” > > I find this result very surprising: I would have expected a huge number not even to have heard of Paul. Considering his strange views I just can see why so many like him–probably they don’t know what these views are yet. Hillary has been beaten before. It’s not the first time she’s been behind in the polls. However, the general election is a looooong way off. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/7 "2015-04-09T20:58:36Z")
Considering how representative of the country Iowa is and how soon the election is this is disastrous news for the Democrats! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/8 "2015-04-09T23:32:00Z")
The writer of that article needs to be banged over the head with the concept of margin of error. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/9 "2015-04-10T07:02:33Z")
Paul leads in Colorado too. Actually, three Republicans currently lead Clinton in Colorado. Some posters asked what states the GOP could win that they didn’t win in 2012. You have your answer: Colorado, which is going increasingly red in the past few years, and Iowa. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/10 "2015-04-10T16:00:38Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Some posters asked what states the GOP could win that they didn’t win in 2012. You have your answer: Colorado, which is going increasingly red in the past few years, and Iowa. That gets the GOP up to 221. Add in Florida and you get 250. Now what? Virginia gets you close, but it’s been trending the other direction. OH gets you even closer, but you’d still need either NM or NV. Certainly possible, but still a tough row to hoe. That said, I do think the fact that all of the GOP candidates tend to run much closer to Hillary in states where they have been campaigning and fundraising does point out how much of her perceived strength is simply higher name recognition. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/11 "2015-04-10T16:14:38Z")
Clinton’s campaign team is probably drooling at the thought of whacking Rand Paul over the head with his [bizarro positions](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/rand-paul-vaccines-can-lead-mental-disorders-n298821). As for Iowa, it’ll be interesting to see how Paul can reconcile his libertarian views with promising massive subsidies to Iowa agriculture. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/12 "2015-04-10T16:25:08Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > It’s a [Quinnipiac poll](http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/2016-presidential-swing-state-polls/release-detail?ReleaseID=2184) and that swings fairly reliably so I’m inclined to both agree and disagree with it. Q is a good firm, but doing horse race polls this far out is essentially pointless. Just to fight ignorance: Quinnipiac is not a firm; it’s a [university](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinnipiac_University_Polling_Institute). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/13 "2015-04-10T17:10:03Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Clinton’s campaign team is probably drooling at the thought of whacking Rand Paul over the head with his [bizarro positions](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/rand-paul-vaccines-can-lead-mental-disorders-n298821). They’ll likely try to present them in such a way that they appear to be \*Republican \*positions, since going after Paul only helps Jeb and Jeb is going to be the nominee. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/14 "2015-04-10T17:12:18Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Some posters asked what states the GOP could win that they didn’t win in 2012. You have your answer: Colorado, which is going increasingly red in the past few years, and Iowa. Iowa, the state that keeps electing Steve King, is going increasingly batshit, yes. But Colorado’s Hispanic vote is increasing, making it an increasingly Democratic state (wherever the fuck you get your info is, as always, a pointless point). But even so, you’d still be a couple hundred or so EV’s short. What do you plan to do about that? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/15 "2015-04-10T17:37:31Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Iowa, the state that keeps electing Steve King, is going increasingly batshit, yes. But Colorado’s Hispanic vote is increasing, making it an increasingly Democratic state (wherever the fuck you get your info is, as always, a pointless point). In 2013, Colorado Democrats forced thru a gun control bill, that’s not a surprise, but it did result in three Democrats losing their seat. Two were recalled and one quit. The conservative, Republican, Tea Party, and 2nd Amendment voters have shown that they are willing to go to the polls, and vote for the candidate that best represents them. Hispanic voters can be conservative, and 2nd Amendment supporters. _The immediate effect of the recalls — the first of their kind in Colorado — was to remove two state senators, Angela Giron of Pueblo and John Morse of Colorado Springs, and replace them with Republicans._ > **[Colorado Lawmakers Ousted in Recall Vote Over Gun Law (Published 2013)](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/us/colorado-lawmaker-concedes-defeat-in-recall-over-gun-law.html?_r=0)** > > Two Democrats who supported tough gun-control laws were recalled in what had become a proxy battle, with outside support from advocates on both sides. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/16 "2015-04-10T17:41:41Z")
The topic here is Presidential elections, not the power of the NRA to stir up their base in off years. ---
**Author:** ![Monocracy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monocracy/32/4493_2.png) [@Monocracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monocracy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/17 "2015-04-10T18:10:00Z")
Any poll with hypothetical candidates is pretty much meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/18 "2015-04-10T18:11:12Z")
If state representatives mattered profoundly in presidential elections, we’d have elected Romney in 2012 due to all the GOP wins in Congress. Fact is, Obama beat him handedly. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/19 "2015-04-10T18:22:59Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Iowa, the state that **keeps electing Steve King** , is going increasingly batshit, yes. But Colorado’s Hispanic vote is increasing, making it an increasingly Democratic state (wherever the fuck you get your info is, as always, a pointless point). > > But even so, you’d still be a couple hundred or so EV’s short. What do you plan to do about that? > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > **The topic here is Presidential elections** , not the power of the NRA to stir up their base in off years. (Bold and underline added) Is Steve King running for President? Is it OK with you if Hispanic voters vote conservative, or pro-gun, or anti-Hillary? Why would you take Hispanic votes for granted? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226/20 "2015-04-10T18:27:44Z")
The King comment was inserted to demonstrate Iowa’s batshittedness, which extends to its presidential votes. And Hispanic voters do tend to vote against the party that hates them. Do please try a little harder. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rand-paul-leading-clinton-in-iowa-poll/717226.md?page=2)