GALLUP ON GUNS — a weak spot for Giuliani:
Gun owners are a powerful force in American politics, and their influence is evident in both the legislative and electoral processes. In general, more gun owners identify as Republicans or lean toward the Republican Party (53%) than identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party (39%), but there are enough gun owners in each party to make them a force in either party’s primaries and caucuses. An analysis of recent Gallup polling suggests that gun owners could be a considerable factor in the Republican nomination process, but less so in the Democratic process. Although Rudy Giuliani is the front-runner for the GOP nomination, Republican gun owners are less likely than non-owners to support him. On the Democratic side, both gun owners and non-owners rate Hillary Clinton as their top choice for the party’s presidential nomination by similar margins over the rest of the Democratic contenders.
In two polls conducted this month, Gallup asked partisans their preferences for their party’s 2008 presidential nomination and whether they personally own any type of gun. According to the polls, roughly one in three Americans are gun owners, including 41% of Republicans and 24% of Democrats.
Read the whole thing.