Republican National Committee Release - 06 05 2007 Research

June 5, 2007

RUN OF THE MILL CANDIDATE Recent Polls Show John Edwards Struggling; Getting Bested By Top Tier And Even Non-Candidates ____________________________________________

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) Has Dropped In The Polls Over The Past Few Months: The Washington Post’s Balz And Cohen: “Edwards, Meanwhile, Has Lost Ground Nationally Over The Past Few Months.” (Dan Balz and Jon Cohen, “Clinton, Giuliani Maintain Leads, But GOP Shows Signs Of Shifting,” The Washington Post, 6/3/07) A USA Today/Gallup Poll From This Past Weekend Finds Clinton And Obama Vying For The Top Spot With Edwards Trailing Both Candidates By More Than 20 Points And Gore By 6 Points. “Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are essentially tied for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll…” The poll finds Barack leading Clinton by a single percentage point, 30%-29%, and has former vice president Al Gore taking 17%, followed by John Edwards at 11%. If Gore is not included, Clinton bests Obama by a single point, 37%-36%, and Edwards takes 13%. (Susan Page, “Poll: Obama, Clinton Now Virtually Tied,” USAToday.com, 6/5/07)

Over The Last Six Weeks, Edwards Has Fallen From 17% To 11% In The Washington Post/ABC News Poll. “Edwards, trying to reverse a slide that has seen him fall from 17 percent to 11 percent in the Washington Post/ABC News poll during the last six weeks…” (Glenn Thrush, "Dems Spar Over War On Terror," Newsday, 6/3/07) According To A May Gallup Poll, Edwards’ Name Recognition Has Actually Declined Since Sept. 2004. “The story is that John Edwards’ name recognition has gone down. That's right. In September 2004, Edwards' name recognition was at 86 percent. Now, after years of continuous campaigning, a smaller percentage of people know who he is. How does that happen? Do people wake up one day and say, ‘Hey, who was that guy who ran for vice president, is championing poverty and gets $400 haircuts? Nope, can't remember.’” (Roger Simon, “To Know Them Is To Dislike Them,” The Politico, 5/28/07) Edwards’ Declining Candidacy Put Him On The Attack In The New Hampshire Debate: AP’s Beth Fouhy: “Struggling To Catch Up” In The Polls, Edwards Threw “The Sharpest Elbows” In The Debate. “So it was left to Edwards, struggling to catch up to Clinton and Obama in most national polls, to throw the sharpest elbows, accusing them of being passive and cautious on urgent issues, like Iraq, health care and gay rights.” (Beth Fouhy, “Questions Of Political Leadership At Heart Of Democratic Forum,” The Associated Press, 6/4/07)

Newsday’s Glenn Thrush: “John Edwards, Slipping In The Polls, Took Aim At Frontrunners Hillary Rodham Clinton And Barack Obama During The Democrats’ Raggedy And Rambling Second Debate...” (Glenn Thrush, “Dems Spar Over War On Terror,” Newsday, 6/3/07)

The New York Post’s Ian Bishop: “Edwards, Lagging In Third Place In Most Major National Polls, Came Out Swinging Against Clinton And Obama.” (Ian Bishop, “Hill Goes To War Vs. John,” The New York Post, 6/4/07) The Chicago Tribune’s Parsons And McCormick: Edwards Perhaps Felt “A Need To Set Himself Apart” As A New Poll Reveals He’s “Not Making Gains” Among Left-Leaning Voters. “Especially aggressive throughout the discussion was Edwards, who perhaps is feeling a need to set himself apart from the crowd. A new ABC/Washington Post national poll shows the former vice presidential nominee is not making gains among voters who are leaning democratic.” (Christi Parsons and John McCormick, “Iraq Takes Center Stage In Debate,” The Chicago Tribune, 6/4/07)

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