Does Governor John Hoeven Hold The Silver Bullet For Killing Obamacare?
Leon Wolf at Redstate thinks so citing that Zogby poll which showed Senator Byron Dorgan losing by big numbers to popular North Dakota governor John Hoeven. I think Wolf is overstating the case a bit, but the poll is pretty clear on the matter.
And it is true that if someone like Dorgan has to flee their government health care cause they’re going to have a lot of trouble getting the bill through the Senate.
When asked how a vote by Senator Dorgan in support of the healthcare bill would impact their potential vote for the Senator in the 2010 election, 12% of likely voters say they would be more likely to vote for Senator Dorgan as a result, while 40% would be less likely. ...
When likely voters are told that Senator Dorgan supports the legislation his support in the potential horse race against Governor Hoeven slips to 31% with 61% preferring the Governor and 8% undecided.
What’s funny about this poll is that all the liberals in North Dakota want to denounce it as purely partisan and entirely manufactured. And while the numbers seem to good to be true even to Republicans, Dorgan and his supporters haven’t exactly jumped at the chance to respond with polling data of their own.
Leading this observer to think there’s at least a grain of truth at the heart of the Zogby poll that has Dorgan and his fellow liberals really, really worried.
As for whether or not Hoeven should run, though I am no fan of Hoeven generally I think he should. And I think he will. And when he does the benefit for conservatives will (hopefully) be a strong challenge to Rep. Earl Pomeroy.
In fact,I think the meeting among certain Republicans in the state I alluded to in a post earlier this morning is more about Hoeven picking who his “running mate” against Pomeroy is going to be than anything else.
