Chris Wilson Republican Future

TEN THOUGHTS ON THE 2008 ELECTIONS AND THE FUTURE OF THE GOP
Chris Wilson, President of Wilson Research Strategies
November 18, 2008

[Publisher's Note: As part of an ongoing effort to bring original, thoughtful commentary to you here at the FlashReport, I am pleased to present this column from Chris Wilson, the President of Wilson Research Strategies. This data is helpful in our ongoing dialogue about the future of the GOP - Flash]

If you are new to the FlashReport, please check out the main site and the acclaimed FlashReport Weblog on California politics.

NOTE: Wilson's column below is accompanied by this outstanding PowerPoint presentation (now in .pdf format) which I recommend you read. It contains a lot of interesting data.
Ten thoughts about the 2008 elections and the future of the GOP based on Wilson Research Strategies’ election night poll and post-election analysis.

1) This was a winnable race after the convention. Failure on the economy cost McCain and Republicans.

It is easy to forget because the Presidential race seemed to be over about a month before any votes were cast, but coming out of the conventions the McCain campaign had a real chance to win.

Coming out of the DNC Senator Obama had only an eight-point lead in Gallup’s nightly tracking, a relatively small convention “bounce”. After a very well handled RNC, McCain had moved to a six-point lead. While this was a “bounce” as well, it does indicate how close and winnable the race was at that point.
To read the entire articles go to http://www.flashreport.org/featured-columns-library0b.php?faID=2008111812283848