Seven major pollsters issued new national numbers for mid-December, after the last Republican debate in Iowa, which was hosted by the hostile Des Moines Register which is for the record, endorsing the Hillary Clinton and John McCain campaigns.

 

 

Giuliani – 23%

Huckabee – 19.1%

Romney – 16%

McCain – 13.3%

Thompson – 11.3%

Undecided – 10.4%

Paul – 4.6%

Hunter – 1.3%

Tancredo - .6%

Keyes - .4%

Running 5^th with only 11.3% support nationally, can Thompson really win the RNC nomination and if so, how?

The "front-runners"

Mayor Giuliani has been running the longest. He has peaked in the 20’s several times now, only to slide in the polls immediately after. He should be running strongest in the north, yet he is showing poorly in both Iowa and New Hampshire. His campaign is currently in a free-fall that he is unlikely to survive long term.

The message from Iowa voters is hard to mistake. Republican voters are looking for a social conservative, as well as a national security and fiscal conservative. This was always going to be a major problem for the Giuliani campaign and it’s showing up in early primaries already.

Mike Huckabee is enjoying a meteoric rise in popularity in Iowa and to some degree, nationally. But once again, some of his past liberal social policies haunt him and his current liberal social positions, in particular concerning illegal immigration, will soon cause his star to fade. He is likely to fall from grace faster than he rose from obscurity. The current "compassionate conservative" residing in the White House is unpopular with almost 70% of Republicans. Huckabee is even more compassionate towards leftist notions than Bush. That spells trouble ahead for the Huckabee campaign.

McCain is as far as he can go. His push for amnesty will not be forgotten or forgiven among conservative voters and his rhetoric demanding civil rights for terrorists might resonate with Code Pink types, but it will never buy a single conservative vote.

I’ll get to Romney in a minute…

The bottom tier

Tancredo is about to drop out of the race today due to a lack of money and support. Hunter can’t be far behind. Although both men represent strong conservative values and principles, you can’t run a national campaign on empty for very long. This is a financial reality that can’t be overcome.

Keyes recent entry is completely rhetorical. He wants to make a point and his point is well taken. But his campaign is nothing more and a non-factor in the big picture.

Ron Paul continues to raise money from across the political aisle on the basis of his anti-war rhetoric alone. But the money continues to not translate into votes. He remains at or below 5% support nationally, most of it coming from outside of the Republican Party. He will stay in the race so long as people are sending money. But his campaign remains dead in the water. By the convention, his "republican" supporters will have to choose between helping the Democrat nominee or the Republican nominee.

10.4% Undecided

Nobody knows for certain what these folks are looking for. But whatever it is, they have yet to see it in any of the Republican candidates. I suspect that many are simply waiting for the over-crowded field to narrow so that they can get a closer look at the real candidates. These folks can decide the ultimate nominee.

Coming endorsements that can make a huge difference

Tom Tancredo is expected to announce his withdrawal from the race today. Even though he has only .6% support nationally, who he decides to endorse can make a big difference. The same goes for Hunter and his 1.3%.

In looking at who these two conservatives are most likely to endorse, Thompson is the most logical answer.

Both of these men are running on very strong border security. This alone makes it all but impossible for either of them to ever endorse Giuliani, Huckabee or Romney due to their past records on illegal immigration issues. McCain’s position on amnesty for illegals and civil rights for terrorists, make it equally unlikely that either of these men could endorse him.

EDITOR'S NOTE:  Tancredo endorsed Romney shortly after Mr. Williams submitted this article.  JB acknowledges his prediction error and requested this comment be added.  It's anyone's guess as to why Tancredo chose to throw his support behind Romney. My guess would have been the same as JB's.

This leaves the only true conservative in the race, Fred Thompson. If both men endorse Thompson, look for their supporters and some of those undecided voters to shift behind the Thompson campaign in short order.

If and when McCain pulls the plug on his campaign, he is also most likely to endorse his long time friend Fred Thompson.

These three endorsements alone have the power to make Thompson the new front-runner nationally, even if Rudy and Romney hold their current positions, which is increasingly unlikely.

If these men decide to withhold their endorsements for a bit, they can keep the picture murky. But in the end, it is hard to imagine them endorsing anyone but Thompson, based upon their own policy positions and their alignment with Thompson.

Mitt Romney

Romney has raised and spent more money than any other Republican candidate and until very recently, he was stuck at or below 10% support nationally. Much of his new support is coming from people who once supported Giuliani. Yet some of his early supporters have already defected to Huckabee.

In short, Romney’s support is very volatile. In fact, main stream Republicans, even those who have polled for the top tier candidates for months, continue to shift around from perceived "front-runner" to the "front-runner" of the week. The top four are secure as only the top four. But who in the top four will ultimately emerge as the nominee remains totally fluid.

The question is this - will social conservatives continue to hold their ground? If they do, Thompson wins.

Thompson in Iowa

A third place finish in Iowa has always been seen as a major victory for Thompson, by both the Thompson campaign and political experts. But if his current campaign blitz across Iowa is even moderately successful over the next two weeks, he could actually surprise many of those experts with a stronger Iowa finish.

If this happens, those three key endorsements come even easier.

A Four Man Race

The Republican race has always been a four man race and it very much remains so today. One of four men will be the RNC nominee, Giuliani, Romney, Huckabee or Thompson.

The press is at least 70% behind Democrats. When reporting on the Republican race, they lean heavily in favor of the moderates, Giuliani, Romney and Huckabee. Even FOX News, which I refer to as the RINO Network, has repeatedly demonstrated hostility towards the candidate Rush Limbaugh calls "the only conservative in the race," Fred Thompson. Thompson himself openly accused FOX of ignoring his campaign in favor of the moderates.

Based on all the facts at hand, it is inconceivable that Thompson won’t experience a major surge over the next six to eight weeks, as the campaign field begins to thin and voters begin to look closely at the four major contenders.

In the end, a Two Man Race

I predict that the Republican race will ultimately narrow to only a two man race between Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney. Romney "looks" Presidential. But Thompson "is" Presidential. That’s not only my opinion, it’s a fact…

Romney calls himself a conservative, but Thompson is a conservative. This is also fact, not opinion.

So, if conservatives are working to nominate the most Presidential conservative in the Republican race, Thompson is the likely winner.

Can it happen? Thompson seems to be counting on it!

Watch Iowa closely…