Rural Straw Poll Picks Fred Thompson and Barack Obama for President

Last week's Husker Harvest Days celebration in Grand Island, sponsored by the Nebraska Farm Bureau, included an unscientific presidential straw poll of Nebraska farmers, ranchers, agricultural workers, and their families.
 The Associated Press reports the results:

Of the 387 who voted Republican, 36 percent picked [former Sen. Fred] Thompson, 16 percent picked Sen. John McCain of Arizona and 15 percent picked Rudy Giuliani.

Of the 165 votes cast by Democrats, 35 percent were for [Barack] Obama, the U.S. senator from Illinois, 31 percent were for Sen. Hilary Clinton of New York and 16 percent were for John Edwards.

Anyone surprised by these results? How well do these numbers conform with your expectations of Nebraska voters? Personally, I see Thompson's numbers reflecting his position as flavor-of-the-month in a weak Republican field. There's no justification for his being the front-runner beyond the fact that Republicans have seen him on Law & Order and are buying into the hype that he could be the next Ronald Reagan.
 
It doesn't surprise me that rural Nebraskans would reject a smooth operator like Mitt Romney - who failed to even register in the top three. Giuliani also polled a lot lower than would be expected from his national standing, suggesting that a former New York mayor who doesn't pander completely to the religious right would be a tough sell to the Republican base in Middle America.  Honestly, if anyone knew who he was, I'd expect the sort of voters who'd attend Husker Harvest Days to favor former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. I'll give my fellow Nebraskans enough credit, though, that I don't think they'd rally to the likes of Sam Brownback or Tom Tancredo.  As for the Democratic straw poll, it's hard to say what exactly to glean from these results. Probably what stands out the most is that the numbers simply don't support John Edwards' claim to be the only candidate who can connect with red state voters. Rather, Nebraska Democrats seem to be banking what hopes they have for a new beginning on Obama, while a number of others thumb their nose at the Republican majority by rallying to Clinton.   Either way, a black man and a woman ended up with a combined 2/3rds of the vote. Who would have guessed such a thing would have been possible in Nebraska just a few years ago?  Of course, there's no reason to put much stock in these number. For starters, it isn't a very large sample. Not to mention, the ratio of voting Republicans to voting Democrats (70% - 30%) is pretty damn disappointing - even taking into account this being an agricultural sector poll taken in the Third Congressional District.
Still, it's something to think about. Something to talk about, as well. Let's hear what you have to say.

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Obama Says Democrats Must "Show Up" in Nebraska (to raise money?)

The Associated Press reports:

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says it gets a little lonely sometimes being a Democrat in Nebraska.... But Buffett had plenty of company Wednesday night at an Omaha fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama....  

The total raised wasn't immediately available, but the minimum price to get in was $500 per person, and organizers estimated the crowd at about 200. About 40 of those people attended an earlier reception, and each donated at least $2,300.  

Obama said two Nebraskans - U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson and former Sen. Bob Kerrey - are proof that a Democrat can win in a historically red state. "We can elect Democrats here, but we've got to show up," Obama said.

Offering some further details, the Omaha World-Herald reported:

The Illinois senator was accompanied by his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters: 9-year-old Malia and a very sleepy 6-year-old Sasha. Attendees included some of Nebraska's top Democrats, including Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey, former Lt. Gov. Kim Robak, Omaha attorney James Martin Davis and State Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha.

Using the numbers provided, we're looking at Obama receiving somewhere around $172,000 from his Omaha fundraiser - not bad by Nebraska standards, but a drop-in-the-bucket where Buffett is concerned.

Buffett hasn't made any official endorsement of Obama and has also hosted a New York City fundraiser for Sen. Hillary Clinton. But, it's great his legendary status as the Oracle of Omaha was at least enough to entice Obama to show up. And, this was not the first time Obama's appeared in Nebraska after holding a community rally in North Omaha and serving as keynote speaker at the Nebraska Democratic Party's Morrison-Exon Dinner in May 2006. Long time readers may even remember the NNN interview with Barack Obama from that event.

John Edwards also made a fundraising appearance in Omaha earlier this summer, while New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson spoke at a National Conference of the Young Democrats of America hosted by Nebraska Young Democrats in May. So, honestly - at least, more than in years past - Nebraska is seeing a little bit of love from the Democratic Presidential candidates.

Of course, they still don't seem to be very concerned with or aware of the presidential caucus being planned by Nebraska Democrats for Saturday, Februrary 9th, 2008. But no one knows quite how things will shape up in the 2008 primary. It does seem a long-shot, but these candidates might still come back to Nebraska - hopefully asking for our vote.

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