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AP GOP Primary Poll: None Of The Above?

Posted Jul 17, 2007 by William March

Updated Jul 17, 2007 at 04:05 PM

It’s being widely reported that “none of the above” won the latest AP/Ipsos poll in the Republican presidential primary.

“And the leading Republican presidential candidate is … none of the above,” is the opening sentence of the AP story.

“The latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that nearly a quarter of Republicans are unwilling to back top-tier hopefuls Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain or Mitt Romney,” the story continues.

Well, sort of.

According to PollingReport.com, which compiles political poll results, the outcome of the nationwide AP/Ipsos poll was: Rudy Giuliani, 21 percent; Fred Thompson, 19 percent; John McCain, 15 percent; Mitt Romney 11 percent; a total of 9 percent for Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and Sam Brownback; “other,” 2 percent; “unsure,” 15 percent; and, for “none,” apparently meaning none of the above, 8 percent.

The AP story apparently added the 8 percent for “none” to to 15 percent “don’t know” and the 2 percent for “other” to reach its conclusion. But most pollsters say not everyone who says “don’t know” on a poll actually opposes all the listed candidates. Many respondents just haven’t started paying attention.

By the way, the sample size for the GOP primary question was 346 respondents, which yields a 5.5-point error margin—not a very precise poll as national polls go.