Rex leads in internal poll

Supt. of Ed. Jim Rex got some mixed news in an internal poll that was reported by The State on Wednesday. It has him with a significant lead over his counterparts in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, with 25 percent saying they would vote for Rex, who had a 60 percent name ID.

However, 43 percent of people polled had no preference, and the other major candidates — Sen. Vince Sheheen, attorney and former lobbyist Dwight Drake and attorney Mullins McLeod — don’t have much statewide recognition beyond the political class.

As a whole, it looks more like the polls that showed U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman leading the Democratic presidential pack early in the 2004 primary race. He didn’t have the goods, but he had name ID.

While the Rex campaign tried to spin it like he was the front-runner, Democratic pollster Carey Crantford said in the story, “If I’m advising someone who is the only statewide elected official, running against a group of people with no name ID, I’d be a little bit concerned with the numbers. It shows the intrinsic strength that Rex has is only marginal.”