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Wednesday 8th July 2009 | 10:14

Americans see Palin resigantion as a bad move for future presidential run

A majority of Americans think Sarah Palin's resignation is a bad move for a future run for the presidency, though a majority of Republicans would vote for her

Sarah Palin’s political future has been seemingly thrown into doubt after the shock announcement of her resignation as Governor of Alaska last Friday. Previously, Governor Palin had been widely tipped as a frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2012. Now, however, political commentators and party strategists are debating the meaning of Mrs Palin’s departure, especially what it means for supposed presidential ambitions.

PoliticsHome asked a panel of American voters to weigh in and, according to the most recent poll, a significant majority of Americans see Mrs Palin’s a resignation as a bad move “in terms of a future run for the presidency.”

Altogether 60% of Americans see it as a bad move, with 82% of Democrats and 60% of Independents selecting this option.  Only 16% of Americans think it is a good move.

In contrast, Republicans are divided. 31% of GOP voters think it is a good move, while 31% view it as a bad move. A larger group (37%) are undecided.

No agreement on why Palin resigned

There is no consensus among Americans as to the reasons why Mrs Palin resigned as governor.

24% in total believe she resigned in order to campaign for the presidency in 2012. This view is held by 25% of Republicans, 23% of Democrats and 25% of Independents.

Conversely, 23% think the resignation was in order “to protect herself and her family from media attacks.” This is far more popular with Republicans (41%) than Democrats.

However, 23% see “an unknown scandal” as precipitating the resignation. This view is only held by 5% of Republicans, but is shared by 36% of Democrats.

A total of 21% are undecided on the reasons behind the resignation, perhaps indicating there is still a large amount of confusion surrounding the issue.

 Still going strong with the GOP base

Sarah Palin's resignation may has not cost her many fans among the Republican base, however. Her potential to run for president as the Republican nominee remains strong, as 64% of Republicans say they would vote for her.  Only 18% of Republicans say that they would not vote for her, while a further 19% are unsure. 

 

PoliticsHome interviewed 1,554 Americans from the PoliticsHome OpinionAmerica panel by e-mail from June 6 to 8. Results are weighted to represent the United States politically.